Everton's Season So Far Compared To Last: Better or Luckier?
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Everton currently sit in sixth position in the Premier League table, but have they been better than last season?
Everton currently sit in sixth position in the table, having picked up 16 points so far this season, a position many would have been happy with heading into the campaign.
What the league table doesn't tell you is where those points have come from. The Toffees have played all three of the newly promoted sides so far, which has undoubtedly boosted their position in the table after winning two and drawing once.
The league table doesn't tell you the quality of the opposition. Seven of the 10 fixtures, due to the three newly promoted sides, have a direct equivalent from last season, so we've compared the results of the previous campaign to this one.
Everton have 14 players heading out on international duty, with nine of those being senior players.roundtable.ioEverton's International Blues: All The Details as 14 Players Called UpEverton have 14 players heading out on international duty, with nine of those being senior players.
Everton have 14 players heading out on international duty, with nine of those being senior players.
Like for like: Everton three points worse off
The seven sides that Everton faced last season that they've already faced in the current campaign, they've taken nine points.
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Fixture 2026-27 xG – xGA 2025-26 xG – xGA Points +/-
Crystal Palace (H) W 2-0 1.16 – 2.04 W 2-1 2.03 – 1.65 0
Bournemouth (A) D 1-1 1.79 – 2.17 W 1-0 1.35 – 0.57 -2
Manchester United (H) D 2-2 1.01 – 0.72 L 0-1 0.62 – 1.27 +1
Tottenham (A) D 0-0 1.17 – 0.64 L 0-1 0.38 – 0.99 +1
Chelsea (H) L 0-2 0.45 – 1.54 W 3-0 0.98 – 1.11 -3
Arsenal (A) L 0-2 0.48 – 1.77 L 0-2 1.05 – 2.59 0
Newcastle (A) W 1-0 2.15 – 1.47 W 3-2 2.13 – 0.97 0
Total 9 pts 8.21 – 10.35 12 pts 8.54 – 9.15 -3
The attack has remained relatively the same. Last season, Everton created 1.22 xG per game in the same fixtures last season, and this season, they've created 1.17 xG per game - so almost identical.
Everton are giving up 1.48 xG per game against those seven sides, compared to 1.31 xG last season. Everton have conceded over 2 xG twice this season, away at Bournemouth, where we only conceded 0.57 last term, and at home to Palace, jumping from 1.65 in the previous campaign.
Everton have conceded seven goals from those seven games, the same as last season, but they are still giving up more chances.
The data does need a bit of context, however. Everton's 3-0 win over Chelsea at home last season saw the Toffees generate only 0.98 xG, but they were undoubtedly the dominant team in that game.
Everton sat back and absorbed pressure after going in front, and a lot of Chelsea's xG was generated when chasing the game. David Moyes would have been happy to not create too many chances as they looked to keep their lead.
The game against Bournemouth is also the opposite case of that. Everton created more this time around, but conceded a lot more, and needed a late, fairly fortunate, equaliser in order to snatch a draw.
One improvement was the comparison between playing Tottenham away last season and this season. Last term, on the final day, the Toffees created just 0.38 xG, whereas they created 1.17 this season, more than Spurs, and arguably should have won the game.
Thierno Barry deserves more respect at Everton for some of the performances he's produced this season.roundtable.ioEverton: It's Time To Put Some Respect On Thierno Barry's NameThierno Barry deserves more respect at Everton for some of the performances he's produced this season.
Thierno Barry deserves more respect at Everton for some of the performances he's produced this season.
More comparisons
It's been a common theme with Moyes that he struggles against the better sides. Last season, Everton picked up zero points from Arsenal and Manchester United, who finished first and third, respectively.
The middle of the pack is where Everton flourished last year, beating Bournemouth, Chelsea, and Newcastle. This season, though, just 1.33 points per game against those sides.
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Opponents (2025-26 finish) 2026-27 pts per game 2025-26 pts per game xG difference per game, 26-27 xG difference per game, 25-26
Arsenal (1st), Man United (3rd) 0.50 0.00 -0.50 -1.09
Bournemouth (6th), Chelsea (10th), Newcastle (12th) 1.33 3.00 -0.26 +0.60
Crystal Palace (15th), Tottenham (17th) 2.00 1.50 -0.18 -0.11
Picking up points against the lesser sides has improved, and that's what leads us on to the newly promoted teams.
Everton vs newly promoted teams
So far, there's been a big improvement when facing the newly promoted sides, and the lesser sides, in the Premier League.
Last season, Everton picked up just one point per game against the newly promoted teams, averaged just 0.84 xG per game, whereas that has climbed to 2.09 xG per game this season.
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Against promoted sides Games Pts per game Goals for–against xG per game xGA per game Possession
2026-27 (Ipswich, Hull, Coventry) 3 2.33 6–3 2.09 1.35 54%
2025-26 (Leeds, Sunderland, Burnley) 6 1.00 5–6 0.84 1.26 49%
xG against has increased, but only slightly, and the most important thing is, Everton have picked up 2.33 points per game in comparison to one point per game.
Verdict
Everton have improved, but not totally across the board. Beating the lesser sides is a big improvement and something Everton need to continue in order to be in the top half of the Premier League table come the end of the season. Having a high points per game against bottom half teams will put Everton in a strong position, even if they struggle against the 'big six'.
Fixing beating the newly promoted sides alone is going to push Everton up the table. The Toffees need to become a dominant side against those below them in the Premier League table, and we've certainly seen an improvement on that so far.
Of course, the big caveat is that everything is a small sample size and all the teams are different in some way this season, but I thought the data was interesting nonetheless.
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