Middlesbrough v Everton: Lukaku’s purple patch

Rom impressing

Something has changed for both teams in the seven games played since Christmas. During that time, Middlesbrough have scored just three goals, none of which coming in victory.

Aitor Karanka switched from the 4-2-3-1 he used in the Championship to a 4-3-3 but this has arguably taken away their creativity. Marten De Roon presses intelligently, Adam Clayton is disciplined and Adam Forshaw has a good work rate. However, it is difficult to imagine an opposing anchor man being afraid of any of those players.

Karanka starts potential centre-backs at right-back, Antonio Barragan or Calum Chambers, and a right-footed player at left-back in Fabio Da Silva. Both Fabio and Viktor Fischer have tendencies to move inside from the left, so for width there is a reliance on right winger Adama Traore to do a lot of work on his own.

Traore has pace but he would be more effective if there were other attacking players to his left stretching play away from him to create space. That is not happening at the moment because Karanka persists with hardworking but otherwise limited midfielders.

Attacking well has certainly not been a problem for Everton. The Toffees have scored 19 goals since Christmas – over six times more than their opponents in the same time-frame – six of them coming in the victory over Bournemouth. Joel Robles conceded three goals against the Cherries and was at times called upon to keep his side in the lead, but this was a fine attacking display.

Ademola Lookman showed no fear in his first start for the club after making an impact from the bench in previous games. Ross Barkley responded to his critics with a hungry, vibrant display, even if his celebration for the team’s sixth began prematurely.

The main man that day though was Romelu Lukaku, who netted four goals. There is a sense among Everton fans that they would like to see that monster, who bullies defenders with pace and power, more often. At the moment though, the Belgian is in the middle of a purple patch and Everton’s superior confidence in the final third could be the difference.

The Football Lab’s Verdict: 0-2