When David Moyes was reappointed as Everton manager eleven and a half years after his initial departure, the reaction was mixed with a healthy dose of scepticism. Many observers dismissed the appointment as a nostalgic gamble by a club in crisis, hoping that a familiar face could provide a short‑term lift while the team fought to retain its Premier League status. Everton’s situation at the time was bleak. The Toffees were still reeling from a points deduction imposed less than a year and a half earlier, and they were perched just a single point above the relegation zone when Moyes stepped back onto the Goodison Park pitch.
Fast‑forward to the present day and the club has not only moved into a brand‑new stadium – the Hill Dickinson Stadium – but also harbours ambitions that would have seemed laughable a few months ago, including a realistic shot at European competition and, if the results continue, a possible return to the Champions League. When Moyes first left Everton, the club was already drifting away from the top‑six places that grant access to Europe. The notion that simply reinstating the manager who guided the team to its most recent appearance in a continental tournament twenty years ago could revive those hopes is, on the surface, an oversimplification. Yet Moyes’s résumé includes a European trophy with West Ham United, so the idea that he could engineer a similar turnaround for Everton is not entirely without precedent, even if the challenges differ.
A victory over arch‑rivals Liverpool on Sunday would tighten the gap to the fifth‑place slot – the position that guarantees a Champions League berth – to a mere two points. Since Moyes’s return, Everton have climbed to seventh in the league, sitting above traditional powerhouses such as Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, all of whom have either participated in the Champions League this season or are currently occupying qualification spots.
What makes this ascent remarkable is the financial disparity. United, Newcastle and Tottenham have each spent well over £100 million in the last two transfer windows, dwarfing Everton’s comparatively modest outlay.
Despite this, Moyes has extracted maximum value from the squad at his disposal, transforming a team once labelled a relegation‑battle candidate into a credible European contender. A pivotal factor in this transformation has been an improvement in an area that previously exposed a weakness in Moyes’s managerial toolkit: performance away from home. Historically, Moyes’s sides have struggled on the road, but since his return to Merseyside Everton have become one of the most effective travelling teams in the league. Only Arsenal and Manchester City have accumulated more points per game away from their home grounds, with Everton averaging 1.68 points per away fixture.
This is the highest away‑point ratio Moyes has ever achieved, surpassing even his tenure at Manchester United. In earlier spells at West Ham, Sunderland and during his brief stint at Real Sociedad, his teams rarely managed more than a single point per game away from their own stadiums.
The shift in Everton’s approach has been evident: while the team’s goal‑scoring record remains modest – with midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall leading the tally with just seven goals – the side has become exceptionally difficult to break down on the road. This defensive solidity has yielded points at some of England’s most intimidating venues, including Old Trafford, St James’ Park and Villa Park. Nevertheless, the new stadium environment presents a fresh set of challenges. Although Everton’s away form has surged, their home record tells a different story.
The Toffees have recorded only six Premier League wins on their own turf, placing them 14th in the home‑games table. Some pundits attribute this to the inevitable growing‑pains associated with moving into a new arena. Moyes himself has remarked that “teams that relocate to a new stadium almost always experience a period of struggle,” suggesting that the adjustment period may be influencing the team’s performances.
The atmosphere at the Hill Dickinson Stadium differs markedly from the cramped, intimidating confines of Goodison Park. The new venue is more open, which can dilute the intensity of crowd noise and reduce the psychological edge that Everton traditionally enjoyed over visiting sides. Statistically, Everton’s style of play also shifts when they are on home soil.
They adopt a more direct approach, attempting 107 more long passes than they do away from home, and their possession drops to 39.7 % compared with 47.6 % on the road. Interestingly, the change in tactics does not appear to affect their scoring output dramatically. At home, Everton have netted 21 goals from an expected‑goals (xG) figure of 20.46, while away they have scored 19 goals from an xG of 22.82.
However, the defensive side of the equation tells a different tale. Although they have conceded only one more goal at home than away, their expected goals against (xGA) at the Hill Dickinson Stadium is almost four goals higher than in away fixtures, indicating that the team is more vulnerable when they dominate possession in front of their own fans.
The underlying issue seems to be that a higher possession percentage invites pressure in dangerous areas, increasing the likelihood of turnovers that opponents can exploit. Conversely, when Everton play a more direct, low‑possession game on the road, they keep the ball away from their own penalty area more efficiently, giving them greater defensive stability. As the season reaches its climax, a familiar mantra resurfaces: treat every match like a cup final.
For Moyes and Everton, the advice could be refined to “treat every match like an away game,” regardless of venue. Applying this mindset to the upcoming Merseyside derby against Liverpool could be the catalyst that propels Everton into the European conversation. If the Toffees can sustain their away‑game discipline and find a way to translate that confidence to their new home, there is a genuine chance that Moyes will achieve what seemed impossible at the start of the campaign – restoring European football to the blue half of Merseyside.
Fans can watch the Everton‑Liverpool clash live on Sky Sports Main Event from 1 pm on Super Sunday, and the excitement continues with a Super 6 competition offering a £250,000 prize for free entrants.