Key statistic places Everton alongside some of the Premier League’s best teams

Everton have endured a difficult start so far this season, losing three of their first four games and only managing a single point.

That came in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield United before the international break but it was another positive sign that they have rediscovered the scoring touch after struggling so far this season.

Those two goals were proceeded by two strikes in their comeback win over Doncaster in the EFL Cup and the signing of Beto has certainly re-energised things at the top end of the pitch.

However, the focus remains on putting the ball in the back of the net. They finished as a league’s lowest scorers last season as they narrowly avoided relegation for a second successive season but the stats this time around are certainly more promising.

Everton managed 34 shots and 16 shots on target across their two one-goal defeats to Fulham and Wolves so far this season and they were painfully close to coming away with two wins on those occasions.

They had a whole host of clear chances in the season’s opener against Fulham before missing multiple openings against Wolves as the Goodison faithful were left massively frustrated by their team’s lack of potency.

According to Sqauwka’s stats, Everton currently rank seventh for non-penalty expected goals with 7.28 from their four games so far.

That figure sees them ahead of Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester United in the top 10 list.

There’s two ways we can look at these figures; one, Everton’s chance creation certainly isn’t that of a team who are going to get relegated, that’s for sure and the attack of Beto, Dwight McNeil, Arnaut Danjuma, Jack Harrison, Youssef Chermiti and Dominic Calvert-Lewin may be enough to fire them up the table.

Secondly, that Everton faced three sides (Fulham, Wolves, Sheffield United) who were poor on the day and that it will be better to judge the side after at least 10 games of the season to see if the trend continues.

Both are true, but there’s also the defence to consider - they have still conceded some poor goals and those have been the difference so far.

The frustrations at the top end of the pitch cannot continue, but they also cannot leak into their defensive play.

Dyche certainly has issues to contend with, including several untimely injuries, but players are returning and their attack looks refreshed and now is the time to put it all together.