Ipswich Town manager Gary O'Neil says his team head to Everton full of confidence. (Image: Ross Halls)
Ipswich Town manager Gary O'Neil says his team head to Everton full of confidence. (Image: Ross Halls)
Ipswich Town manager Gary O'Neil believes his team can make life awkward for Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium tomorrow (3pm).
The newly-promoted Blues have taken an encouraging six points from four Premier League games against sides all playing in Europe this season - wins against Sunderland and Crystal Palace sandwiching defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool.
They now take on an Everton outfit that, despite a tumultuous transfer window, are unbeaten in six games across all competitions at the start of the campaign. An opening weekend win against Crystal Palace was followed by league draws against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Tottenham, while there have been Carabao Cup victories against Championship sides Preston and Wolves.
"David Moyes' teams are always very, very difficult to play against," said O'Neil. "It will be a tough test for us, but it's one that we go into with confidence.
"We have respect for what Everton are and what they can do, but, to be honest, there's just a real steely focus on us and what I think we can do. The lads trained unbelievably well yesterday and we travel up there full of belief that we can add to the points that we've already collected."
Julio Enciso, Leif Davis and Jacob Greaves celebrate during Ipswich Town's 3-2 win at Crystal Palace last weekend.
(Image: Ross Halls)
On the Toffees, O'Neil added: "It looks exactly like a David Moyes side. It doesn't look overly complicated. It's very good in the areas that it needs to be.
"(James) Tarkowski and (Jarrad) Branthwaite are very good, physical defenders who know their way around the level. (Thierno) Barry can run in behind. They have a good threat on the sides, with Tyrique George having started well. (Kiernan) Dewsbury-Hall is a good creative No.10. They're a real threat at set-pieces.
"They have a lot of things well covered, which is why they've been able to go through six games without losing. But, of course, there are things there that we can try to exploit. No team is perfect. No team is without its weaknesses.
"We take the team there in a good moment and will see if we can create a little bit of awkwardness in their new stadium, make it feel like a difficult afternoon for them and see if we can come away with something, which would be huge for us going into a little three-week (international break) gap."
Everton have made a six-game unbeaten start to the season in all competitions, beating Crystal palace and drawing against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Tottenham in the Premier League.