Fresh from a first league victory in eight games, Everton will be hoping for a second straight one when they travel to face Brighton this weekend.
The Toffees’ patchy run of form over Christmas and early January prompted the return of David Moyes, who replaced Sean Dyche in the hot seat after nearly 12 years away.
Moyes suffered defeat on his homecoming but managed to mastermind Everton’s first win at Goodison for over a month with a thrilling 3-2 win over Tottenham last Sunday.
The Seagulls meanwhile, are unbeaten in six, having recorded a 3-1 win against Man United at Old Trafford most recently.
Stopping that run becomes more a difficult prospect considering the Toffees have only won once away at Brighton in seven Premier League match-ups.
More pressing in fact, is that Everton's last win on the road came back in October - a span totalling seven matches.
Stats aside, the stakes for Moyes’ side prove to be high as they sit four points above the relegation zone, despite the cushion of a game in hand on their nearest rivals.
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Continuing to be proactive
A common feature of Everton's play in recent times had been their nature to sit off teams and waiting for the right time to pounce.
Despite this ensuring some defensive solidity, this left the Toffees lacking slightly when going forward, which proved to be an arguable reason for many behind Dyche's dismissal.
Moyes' arrival has already seen a shift in style from being reliant on directness to keeping the ball more before springing forward.
This has been evident in Everton's last two, averaging more passes (371), while taking a higher number of shots (22) and creating eight big chances - the same amount as Dyche's final nine games combined.
More impressively this has been against sides in Aston Villa and Spurs, who can turn on the style going forwards despite their lower league positions this term.
Brighton are a similar prospect given their recent form and boldness to play expansive, attacking football.
The Toffees' insistence to be more proactive could pay off, with attacking players such as Iliman Ndiaye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin now more confident to exploit the potential gaps in the Seagulls' defence.
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Creativity relies on Ndiaye
As mentioned previously, Everton's struggles in attack have been quite apparent as they rank second bottom in the league for goals (18).
The one constant however has been the performances of Ndiaye, who also ranks as the club's top scorer with four.
His importance as Everton's talisman has become more apparent throughout, with his goals being responsible for almost half of the Blues 20 points this term.
It is easy to see why Ndiaye is the stand-out, his skilful run and finish against Tottenham encapsulating a nature to entertain and deliver in the key moments.
Dribbling is clearly his key asset however, ranking among the highest in the league for successful take-ons per 90 (2.88).
That becomes more valuable given Brighton's nature to push high, which allows the Senegal international to pick up pockets of space and threaten when drifting in from wide.
The reliance on Ndiaye is furthermore impacted by the absence of chief creator Dwight McNeil, who has been nursing a knee injury since early December.
His spell on the sidelines makes Ndiaye the key to unlocking the door, but hinges on Everton getting him on the ball at every opportunity.
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Solidity still the key
For all of the Toffees emphasis to attack, it is easy to forget that defensive structure still proves crucial.
Fortunately for Everton that resilience at the back remains, having conceded 28 and kept seven clean sheets - both of which place them inside the top eight for each metric.
Going deeper into the stats, sides managed by Moyes concede on average 1.3 goals a game, which would keep the Toffees up based on recent history, if replicated across the season's remainder.
To keep that number down against Brighton would prove to be a task in itself considering their attacking prowess, but the East Sussex outfit have failed to score more than once in a home league game since November.
Regardless of the Seagulls' bluntness at home, a resolute defensive display would likely be the basis of a first away victory in over three months.
