Twice Everton were forced to come from behind against Queens Park Rangers in the EFL Cup – as Lucas Digne and Andros Townsend responded to a pair of Charlie Austin headers – but the Toffees’ efforts were all in vain once the contest was decided from 12 yards.
Tom Davies was the guilty man as his saved penalty proved costly in the shootout, and with Everton also suffering a humbling 3-0 loss at Aston Villa last weekend, the Benitez revolution has lost some momentum after a stellar opening period.
Still able to boast a respectable tally of 10 points from their opening 5 games, Everton are firmly where they want to be – mixing with the European-chasers in sixth place – and they welcome the Canaries to Goodison Park on a three-game winning streak at home in the top flight.
It is hardly a surprise to see Everton’s downturn in form coincide with injuries to Richarlison, Jordan Pickford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, so the onus will certainly be on Townsend and Demarai Gray to continue providing the attacking inspiration lest they risk slipping down the rankings even further.
Not since the days of Marco Silva have Everton managed to string together a longer winning streak on home soil (six) and no matter how much their upcoming opponents may have spent in the transfer market, the results are just not coming for Daniel Farke.
As expected, Jurgen Klopp rested the vast majority of his big-hitters and handed some of Liverpool’s up-and-coming starlets the chance to impress at Carrow Road, but Norwich still fell to a dampening 3-0 EFL Cup loss against a second-string Reds team.
Takumi Minamino struck twice either side of Divock Origi’s header to send the Canaries packing, and that result came days after Farke’s side had conceded a trio of goals to newly-promoted Watford, with Teemu Pukki’s consolation one of the few things that Norwich have had to cheer this term.
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Still rooted to the bottom of the table as the only side yet to pick up a point in the new Premier League season, no team has conceded as many as Norwich’s 14 so far, while their two strikes at the correct end of the pitch is only matched by Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Furthermore, the Canaries travel to Goodison Park on an eight-game losing streak away from home in the top flight – netting just one goal in that time – but their most recent Premier League victory on the road did come against Everton all the way back in November 2019.
Norwich’s winning streak at Goodison Park now stands at two games following their 2-0 EFL Cup win in the 2016-17 season, but Everton won the most recent meeting 1-0 at Carrow Road in June 2020 thanks to Michael Keane’s winner
