Live Blog

Fulltime Thoughts - Look, no one said it was going to be pretty. They just needed to get the win any which way it came. A clean sheet, a win and a Spurs loss. Now if West Ham could also lose this would be a most prosperous day.

FINAL WHISTLE! Everton are still in the hunt! A ground-out 1-0 win gets the three points.

90+4 - Holgate makes up for awful turnover that almost allowed Wolves to cross into the box.

90 - Traore with another great run, twisting and turning and his cross is claimed well by Pickford.
Mason Holgate now coming on, a tired Doucoure is going off. There’s going to be four plus minutes added on.

88 - Richarlison does VERY well getting to a clearance, running down the line with possession and beating a couple of men before crossing for DCL, but his first touch is poor again.

85 - Digne fouls Traore just by the touchline. Freekick into the box coming up, but before that Sigurdsson is going off and Andre Gomes is on. His first contribution is significant as he blocks the freekick from getting anywhere.

83 - Everton corner is cleared, and then the Blues gang-tackle Traore in the middle to get the ball away.

81 - Tom Davies is coming on for his 150th appearance. But before that, Sigurdsson with another chance to shoot from wide on the left, and it’s deflected around the far post. Coleman is coming off. Interesting note from the commentator that Doucoure was supposed to be the one to go off, but Coleman said he had a knock and went off instead.

79 - Uh oh. Doucoure looks to have handled the ball inadvertently as he charges in on another very good run by Traore. VAR reviews it and say he’s fine. Whew again.
Now Richarlison can break away at pace and does well to win a yellow card for Nelson Semedo who held him up.

77 - Sigurdsson with a chance to shoot from outside the box, curls his boot around it and it’s just wide. The defender had done a good job pushing out just a yard or two that made the difference.

73 - Energy levels still seem good, no changes for the Blues as yet.
Coleman slides in and blocks a Traore cross, with the Wolves player now probing the Blues right side. Taken short and then crossed deep, Pickford does well to claim it. Does that scary thing where he drops it at his feet with a rival player just next to him, but then holds it. Oof.

69 - Everton are stringing some passes together now and holding the ball in the Wolves half, which is helping the clock tick by.

64 - Keane does very well to turn and run a good twenty-thirty yards alongside Traore and then slides in to clear for a throw. His criticism has always been that he’s slow to turn but he was pretty sharp there.

62 - Wolves are getting their fair share of the ball, but the Blues are keeping their defensive shape.

58 - Godfrey with another excellent interception and run up the pitch. With one man to aim for among a sea of yellow shirts, he finds DCL with his low cross but the striker miscontrols. Argh.

57 - Whatever Carlo said to the Everton players at halftime is working so far.

54 - The Gwladys Street end stands up and roars in unison as another Godfrey pressure wins another corner. Overcooked this time and Everton cannot get a shot on goal.
Now Traore slaloms through the midfield and can shoot at goal, but it’s low and straight at Pickford. Whew.

50 - That goal was a confidence-booster. Everton counter attack at pace, Digne’s final ball is just behind DCL, but Coleman has a chance to shoot and it’s deflected for a corner.
Wolves can clear the corner this time.

47 - Blues are committing more bodies to the attack and win a corner early. Sigurdsson perfect corner, Richarlison rises highest and heads into the far corner. Beautiful. EVERTON LEAD 1-0!!

46 - Second half is underway.

Halftime Thoughts - At some point surely Ancelotti just has to throw the kitchen sink at them to try get a winner. Hopefully the fans can spark something. We beat Chelsea and Arsenal with just 2,000 there.

For all the pressure Wolves had, they created few quality chances. Expect the game to open up if Everton show any sort of attacking intent.

45 - No time added on, and there’s the halftime whistle. Still 0-0, anyone’s game.

41 - Coleman wins a corner. Digne’s corner is perfect, falls in the box, melee and Richy can get a foot to it and it’s blocked from a couple of yards out for a corner.
Next corner from Digne is good again, and bounces around before Ruddy grabs the ball.

Villa have not only equalized but now they lead Spurs!! It’s 2-1 there.

38 - Good cross from Digne, DCL heads it across the goal, Richy recycles to Digne, and his low cross is hit well by Godfrey, straight at Coleman, grr.

37 - Famous Red Connor Coady hacks down DCL in the center circle. Foul for the Blues who will pump this into the box. Digne deep, headed back and then cleared.

32 - Corner taken short, half-cleared, falls to Traore on the edge of the box and his shot is deflected over. Corner not cleared well, Moutinho’s shot, blocked for the tenth corner! Low, and cleared. This kind of pressure usually does not end well for the Blues.

30 - Going in hard on Traore seems to be a strategy. Richarlison and Keane have also made strong tackles on him.
Chance, whew. Young striker Fabio Silva can turn and shoot from an awkwardly-bouncing cross, deflects off a sliding Mina and goes just over Pickford’s despairing dive, and the bar.

29 - Good spell of possession from Everton but they can’t get vertical. They finally have a half-opening and Coleman’s shot is blocked.

25 - Toffees simply cannot get the ball out of their own half with possession after starting the game so much better.

22 - Nice deep ball for DCL to chase and Ruddy gets to it just in time with the striker bearing down. Doesn’t do his old teammate any favours.
Digne and Sigurdsson double-teaming Traore and the Frenchman still has to foul him. Freekick is cleared and then Traore wins another corner. Very deep and Mina clears.

19 - Doucoure gives up an inadvertent foul making up for an Allan error. Godfrey clears the freekick for a corner. Wolves take it short and eventually comes to nothing.

17 - Now Traore wins a corner off Digne. Deeper ball this time, Mina can clear.

16 - Now Everton corner. Deep, headed from the six-yard line downwards by DCL, straight at the goalie.

15 - Dangerous corner for Wolves, Keane heads clear and a great volley from Gibbs-White on goal. The ball was swerving wickedly and going to Pickford’s low left, but he dives well to punch away.
Next corner is dangerous too, skims off a Wolves head before the Blues can clear.

Everton getting no help from elsewhere, with Tottenham Hotspur jumping into a lead against Aston Villa. Three points for Spurs today will take sixth place out of reach of the Blues.

12 - Cross into the box and Richy heads it straight at the goalie. A shot on target.

10 - Bad Gylfi is here today. A chance to shoot and he hits it straight at the defender in front of him. Then on the counter his pass into the box for DCL is yards behind him.
Sigurdsson is playing in a more central role and now Abdoulaye Doucoure is on the left.

7 - Ruben Neves fouls Richarlison as he rolls him. Lucas Digne cross into the box is cleared. Wolves try to break and a big sliding challenge by Godfrey is applauded wildly by the 6,500 at the stadium.

6 - Wolves get the first corner, cleared away.

5 - Everton have gone into a back four formation actually, with Ben Godfrey at right back and Seamus Coleman is at right midfield, with Gylfi Sigurdsson at left midfield.

3 - Wolves doing all the attacking early on. Adama Traore has already made one run through the middle of the park to Everton’s consternation.
Despite our Wolves blogger telling us that his side would stay in their new back-four, they are a back-three here today.

1 - Underway at Goodison. Word is that James Rodriguez is out because of.. wait for it.. fatigue.

Lineups

Yerry Mina back in the side, and it’s looking like a back-three again. No James Rodriguez though in the squad at all, injured again?

Everton

Pickford, Coleman, Mina, Keane, Godfrey, Digne, Doucoure, Allan, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Olsen, Holgate, Delph, King, Iwobi, Nkounkou, Bernard, Gomes, Davies

Wolves

Ruddy, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Moutinho, Neves, Gibbs-White, Traore, Silva

Subs: Patricio, Sondergaard, Hoever, Marcal, Willian Jose, Vitinha, Saiss, Dendoncker

Preview

Just two games left in this season. And just like the end appears to be in sight for this accursed pandemic, the 2020/21 campaign is almost over too. As we’ve gotten quite used to in recent years, we’re going to leave another season with no European football prospects and all we can count on is the moral victory of some positive steps taken in making Everton a footballing powerhouse again.

The Blues inferior goal difference means they will need handy wins in their games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City, and hope that either or both West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur drop points for us to sneak into European football. Hasn’t happened in the last couple of months, don’t see it starting now.

In his presser yesterday Carlo Ancelotti talked about wanting to see a response from his side following a deflating performance on Sunday. When challenged by the manager, the squad has shown they can rebound well, but it looks like too little too late.

Today’s opponents Wolves struggled mightily with balancing the schedule challenges of European football and injuries to key players, and are floundering in midtable. Everton only know too well what that can be like. The visitors will be playing for pride, and in all honesty, so should the Toffees with 6,500 fans allowed into the stadium for the fixture and the traditional post-match lap of honour for the last home game of the season.

Match Details

Competition: Premier League Matchday 37

Date and start time: Wednesday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m ET / 6:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 39,572 [6,500 allowed in today]

Weather: 56°F/13°C, sunny, 1% chance of precipitation, 12 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: Peacock, Universo - United States; Sky Sports Premier League - United Kingdom; DAZN - Canada, beIN Sports HD 2, SuperSport Variety 2 ROA, SuperSport MaXimo 2, Star Sports 3 Asia, ESPN3 Sur

Radio: evertontv, BBC Radio 5 Live

Live stream: Fubo, Premier Player HD, Sky GO Extra, ESPN Play Sur, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH, Hotstar VIP, RMC Sport en direct

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

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Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Last Meeting

The Blues traveled to Wolverhampton in January in a slump and were able to pull out a 2-1 result with goals from Alex Iwobi (yes!) and Michael Keane. The last time Wolves came to Goodison was the first game of the 2019-20 season under Marco Silva, and the Blues won 3-2 in a rollicking end-to-end affair with Richarlison grabbing a brace in his first game for Everton.