View from the Enemy: Silva 's New Everton, Barkley' s Old Issues, Zouma 's Future, and more

Before Maurizio Sarri's new Chelsea take on Marco Silva's new Everton on Sunday, I'm falling for a quick chat with Matthew Chandler from the Everton blog "Royal Blue Mersey" to talk about the beginning of a new era for both clubs this season. Be sure to check out the reverse edition on my Chelsea's new look, title aspirations, Eden Hazard, Ross Barkley and quite a bit more!

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WAGNH: How has Marco Silva gone so far? What are the main differences between the current Everton manager and the ones from last season? Do you already miss Sam Allardyce?

RBM: Marco Silva has made a big impression on Evertonians so far. Last season, Ronald Koeman appeared to be in the lead, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney out of position, while Silva seems to have a clearer idea of ​​what his best team is. His summer signings, such as Richarlison, Lucas Digne and André Gomes, were a vast improvement on the arrivals before the last campaign, too.

We are a far more attractive than we were under Sam Allardyce, Koeman's replacement – and it's probably not saying much, we've genuinely played some great football at times, not least last Saturday in the win over Brighton & Hove Albion .

WAGNH: Macro Silva is known to rapidly move between clubs; It can be used with Everton as a further stepping stone. Does this concern you?

RBM: Not particularly. Koeman had the same criticism thrown at him, but with clubs like Barcelona while at Everton, or decorating his Christmas tree in red (much to many Evertonians' annoyance), Silva seems more in favor of the long haul at Everton.

If he leaves for a bigger club, he will have succeeded to Everton, so he should have gone to his 23-year trophy drought, for example, I'm sure most fans, myself included, would like him well.

WAGNH: Everton has truly been splashed into the cash flow, so it is likely to be wanted / expected; will they continue to go down this road until they finally find themselves in the top 6? What are your realistic expectations for the current season and the future?

RBM: Steve Walsh, who was completely dysfunctional. The pair reportedly did not get on, and above all else, Walsh was the wrong man for the job. He was a scout at Leicester City, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kanté, but he was clearly ill-suited to the role of director of football.

Marcel Brands, who has vast experience of this job and whose relationship with the manager appears far stronger. The two appear on the same page, and it shows with their excellent summer signings.

I think we might want to spend money on the top six, but more out of necessity. It costs a fortune to compete with the elite, so we have no real choice.

In terms of this season, I still think about the top six even if we're making great strides. Seventh place would be a good first season for Silva; seventh and the FA Cup would be a fantastic debut campaign for him. Long-term, his love must be at least six at the absolute minimum.

Photo by Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

WAGNH: Richarlison has been on fire and arguably your best player hitherto; what can we expect of him for the remainder of the season? Are you scared that the big guns like Chelsea, who's actually been linked to him on several occasions in the past, can come knocking soon if the Brazilian continues to excel and improve?

RBM: Like I said about Silva leaving, if Richarlison were to leave for a team like Chelsea, it would mean it's served us well. Romelu Lukaku when he left for Manchester United last summer. The difference, though, is that under Walsh and Koeman, we never replace Lukaku's goals with a striker of similar quality. Should Richarlison leave, I would have much more faith in Brands and Silva to replace him appropriately.

Things can change quickly, but he seems to be enjoying himself at the club, has already struck up a relationship with the fans and has a strong bond with Silva. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

WELH: Similar to Chelsea, Everton Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ademola Lookman and Jonjoe Kenny – how much time and confidence are they being given by Marco Silva? Lookman's future, especially, was not looking too bright at the club; has his situation improved?

RBM: Silva clearly has a great deal of faith in our youngsters; Tom Davies, 20, was handed over to the captain's armband by the manager for the first time. Calvert-Lewin, Lookman and Kenny have also enjoyed a fair amount of game time, too, which is pleasing to see.

Lookman's future looks a little brighter than when he was reportedly pushing for a return to RB Leipzig, where he spent the second half of the last campaign on loan. But Silva has managed to be better than Koeman or Allardyce, who both ostracised him; he has called us "our present and our future".

Given Theo Walcott is in poor form, it might not be long before But Everton was linked with a swap deal with Crystal Palace involving Lookman and their full-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, this week, so a move away may still be on the cards.

WAGNH: Everton, London, United States, United States, Gerry, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne. While they may have had some success, they have had a tough time in Spain and have not been successful in Barcelona – have they been a hit or miss for Everton this season? Could they cause Chelsea any problems on Sunday?

RBM: Lucas Dignified has been a categoric success. The left-back has taken the reins from Leighton Baines admirably; his defenses are defiant, which is becoming increasingly rare among modern-day full-backs.

Gomes has just played a huge impression in central midfield. His range of passing is superb, and allows the criminally underrated Idrissa Gueye to concentrate on his defensive work; Gomes looks a better partner for Gueye than Morgan Schneiderlin or Tom Davies, for example.

Mina, again due to injury, has been involved in the final minutes against Brighton on Saturday, but played the entirety of Tuesday's friendly against Gor Mahia. Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma is ineligible to face his parent club on Sunday, he will probably make his full Everton debut at Stamford Bridge.

Mina, a 6ft4 center-half, chelsea problems from set-pieces, and while Digne et Gomes have yet to score for Everton, they definitely could create chances for players like Gylfi Sigurdsson or Richarlison, our joint-top scorers this season.

Photo by Alex Livesey / Getty Images

WAGNH: Kurt Zouma's new center-back How has the Chelsea loaned fared so far? Has he been able to build up some form and work on his defensive game? If so, are you hoping that Chelsea may deem the defender superfluous and could we have Lukaku (sigh)?

RBM: Zouma has been excellent and has helped Michael Keane, who had a torrid first season on Merseyside last year. He is an imposing and confident defender, and his distribution has been impressive. The two have struck up an excellent understanding in defense, and most, if not all, Evertonians would love to see him make a permanent move next summer.

If I were to nit-pick, I would say Zouma, like Keane, should have more goals to their name given the amount of possessions. But this is a minor complaint, and one of the most important defeats in Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams, and another dreadfully out of form in Keane.

Wagner: A player who's been excelling at Chelsea after Evertonian Ross Barkley, going from strength to strength (arguably) finally fulfilling his full potential. What did you do to get started? Do Everton's fans still hold a grudge against him after a somewhat unceremonious departure?

RBM: Ross Barkley, I have no doubt, will get a terrible reception from Evertonians. He went for a medical at Chelsea last August ahead of a £ 35 million move, only to seemingly change his mind and stay at Everton, despite being injured. Then, in January, with Everton would have expired in the summer, he joins Chelsea for about £ 15 million.

To many fans, it seems Barkley cost the club £ 20 million, plus whatever he earned in the time in-between. He has lost a lot of, if not all, good will of our supporters, but it is undeniable that he could be dangerous on Sunday, given his recent form. I still think it is a good thing to be in mainland Chelsea's midfield, and it's going to be good enough, but time will tell.

Photo by Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

WAGNH: How do you expect Everton to set up on Sunday? Will you try to play Chelsea's majestic "Sarri-ball"?

RBM: Marco Silva has named the same line-up for the past three league matches, and with Everton having won four of the last five, I expect the change at Chelsea to be the enforced replacement of the ineligible Zouma, with Mina coming in .

We were disappointingly blunt in attack to Manchester United a fortnight ago, so it would be encouraging to see Everton take over Chelsea on Sunday. That said, it would be an excellent result, so while I do not expect Silva to sit back and contain as Allardyce might, I would not mind if we're also a bit more pragmatic than our usual, expansive selves.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Mina, Worthy; Gueye, Gomes; Bernard, Sigurdsson, Walcott; Richarlison.

WAGNH: Which of your players can cause most damage to Chelsea? Who should we be wary of?

RBM: Richarlison and Sigurdsson are the obvious choices for their excellent recent form. The pace and trickery of Bernard on the left could also prove difficult for Chelsea to deal with, possibly the heads of Keane or Mina from corners and free-kicks.

WAGNH: Finally, what's your prediction for Sunday's game?

RBM: A narrow Chelsea win. I think we will score, because only Arsenal has kept a clean sheet against it, so I'll say 2-1 to Chelsea.

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A big thank you to Matthew for taking the time to sit down and answer my long list of questions. May the better side wined.note: as long as that's Chelsea)!