What is realistic for Everton to achieve this season?

It's been a great start to the 2020/21 Premier League season for Everton, but just what are the aims for the club this campaign, and exactly what can they achieve?

Under Carlo Ancelotti, Everton have got off to a flyer. They have are top of the Premier League after 5 rounds of matches, with 13 points. But where does it all go from here?

What Can Everton Achieve in the 2020/21 Premier League Season?

Can the Toffees mount a serious Premier League title challenge? I'm not so sure, but they do currently have plenty going in their favour.

Ancelotti has Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring regularly. Brazilian striker Richarlison is both scoring and assisting. And his high profile signing of the summer, James Rodriguez, has also hit the ground running.

The three pronged attack of Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and James is clearly the driving force behind Everton's outstanding start to the season.

And this outstanding start to the season has seen Betway make the Toffees just 20/1 to win the Premier League.

Can Calvert-Lewin keep on Scoring?

The stats for Calvert-Lewin are outstanding. In his 4 Premier League matches this season, he has 6 goals.

He also added his debut goal for England to his CV during the 3-0 friendly win over Wales.

But can the Everton man keep on going in this form? Or is it just a flash in the pan?

He looks a different player under Ancelotti this season. It's like Everton have found a way to play to the strengths of Calvert-Lewin, and as a result his performance level has shot up.

Everton Boss Carlo Ancelotti with Dominic Calvert-Lewin
what Everton can achieve in the 2020/21 Premier League season depends largely on Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goals

If you believe Calvert-Lewin will keep on scoring, Betway soccer betting odds have him as 13/2 third favourite for the Golden Boot. That's behind favourite Mo Salah (4/1), and Harry Kane who is 9/2.

That's elite company, and amazing stats for a man who wasn't even guaranteed a place in the team last season.

Can Everton achieve a Top 4 finish?

For all the talk of 20/1 to win the Premier League, a Top 4 finish has to be a more realistic aim for Everton.

At the moment they are 9/4 to achieve that. This puts them behind city rivals Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, and Manchester United.

Another reason Betway have them at 9/4 is the form of their South American duo, James Rodriguez and Richarlison.

James has 3 goals and 2 assists to his name this season. While Brazilian, Richarlison has 1 goal and 2 assists to his name.

The latter limped off injured in Everton's previous match, their 4-2 win over Brighton.

What could derail Everton's Season?

Apart from the usual football issues such as injury and loss of form, what else might keep Toffees fans up at night worrying?

The goalkeeper - Jordan Pickford!

Yes, on a negative side for Everton, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford seems to have carried last season's dodgy form over to this campaign.

And this form has seen him making the sort of errors that will cost the Toffees points.

For Everton he was badly at fault for West Brom's equalising goal in Gameweek 2. A goal that could have cost Everton dearly had they not recovered to win that day.

Pickford even played a huge part in the disputed penalty that lost England their Nations League encounter with Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday night. His form must be a concern for Ancelotti.

Then against Liverpool on Saturday, he should have been sent off in the first half for a reckless lunge. And if that wasn't enough, he then let in Jordan Henderson's week effort at the death, only to be let off by the tightest of VAR off-side decisions.

As a shot stopper, Pickford is decent enough. Yes, he did let in a long distance shot against West Brom, but by and large, shot stopping isn't his weakness.

It's his rashness and judgement that seems to be the problem. He comes across as very hot headed, and he really needs to tone things down and become a calming presence.

Defenders need to know they can trust the man between the sticks.

If he doesn’t sort his form out, he could end up unsettling the whole backline of Everton. And in the process, the whole season.

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