Silva: Everton must be at their best to beat Wolves

Everton manager Marco Silva has said his team must perform to their maximum if they are to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Wolves, who finished one place above Everton in seventh last season, took four points off them in their first year back in the Premier League, including a hugely impressive 3-1 away win in February.

And speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Silva predicted more of the same on Sunday from a team that have drawn all three of their league games this season, but one he has great respect for:

“Like always, we have to be at our best level. The last home game [1-0 win against Watford] was the same; when we play away, it’s always the same, too. It won’t be any different because it’s Wolves. Premier League matches are always difficult.

“They had a very good season last season; they are playing together, this will be the third season almost of all their players are playing together. They know each other well, they haven’t changed anything. They signed some good players, but they didn’t sell anyone; it’s more or less the same XI.

“They are really strong on the counter attack and will be solid all the time, waiting for the right moment to create problems for us on the counter-attack and in set-pieces, also. We expect them to come here, to respect us, to play their football.

“For us to play in our way, how we like to play, we have to always have a good balance, prepare our attacks well, but be ready when we lose the ball, because in those moments they are really strong.

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After managing just one goal in their first three league games this season, Everton came from behind to put four past Lincoln City at Sincil Bank in the EFL Cup second round on Wednesday.

After the match, Silva spoke of his particular satisfaction with the personality his team showed against the Imps, who took the lead after just 20 seconds and equalised to make it 2-2 with 20 minutes remaining.

It was a strong response from Everton, especially following a dreadful performance in the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa last Friday, and now Silva is demanding that continues into Sunday’s game:

“It’s always important to score goals, important to win, even like i said before the match and after the match, we know what our obligation is; to go there and win that football match, and to stay in this competition because it’s an important competition for us. That was the main thing for us.

“Of course, we didn’t start the game like we wanted, but afterwards the reaction was good. Because of that, i spoke about personality as well, because its important for us, even if you’re playing a team in a different division.

“Even after their second goal, we scored again; a third and a fourth. It was important and it gives us confidence, but I think what will give us more confidence is everything we have been doing since the first day.

“Of course, the last game against Villa was not what we wanted, but now we play again at Goodison. It will be really important for us to play at home again, together with our fans, to win a football match.”