Everton snatched a late, dramatic point but they also took another terrifying step toward relegation from the Premier League, as they drew 1-1 with Wolves at Molineux Stadium on Saturday.
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Sean Dyche’s side (33 points - 17th place) could find itself in the bottom-three when Championship Sunday begins, pending results elsewhere in the Premier League on Sunday and Monday. 18th-place Leeds (31 points) are at West Ham on Sunday (8:30 am ET), and 19th-place Leicester (30 points) are away to Newcastle on Monday (3 pm ET). Both sides would leapfrog the Toffees with a win in matchweek 37.
Wolves (41 points), meanwhile, remain 13th in the table, well clear of the relegation scrap as they wrap up season no. 5 back in the top flight.
WATCH WOLVES vs EVERTON FULL MATCH REPLAY
Everton had the run of things early on, but the Toffees failed to make their dominance felt on the scoreboard. In the 34th, Wolves made Everton pay for their wayward finishing, as they snatched the lead against the run of play. Adama Traore dribbled 60 yards, beating two defenders before firing a low shot which was saved, but not held, by Jordan Pickford. The rebound fell to Hwang Hee-Chan, who hooked his right foot around the ball and hammered it home to put the home side ahead.
The equalizer came eight minutes into second-half stoppage time, as Everton hearts were beginning to break and the reality of relegation began to set in. After a long ball into the box fell at the back post, James Tarkowski found Yerry Mina with a clever back-heel flick and the Colombian center back swept it past Jose Sa.
Everton’s relegation fate to be decided on final day
When Sean Dyche was appointed as Frank Lampard’s successor, the path forward seemed clear: He would get the Toffees to defend like Dyche’s Burnley teams and that would be enough itself to keep them clear of the bottom-three. Only, Everton have done no such thing under Dyche.
In 17 games under Dyche, Everton have kept just four clean sheets, while conceding multiple goals 11 times (including six of their last eight outings), and three or more goals on five occasions.
Stars of the show
Wolves vs Everton reaction
Ruben Neves, on his Wolves future…
🗣️ “Let’s see what’s going to happen. I always say the same thing that I always love to be here but I want to play Champions League football. If it was my last game here, I really enjoyed it.”
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 20, 2023
Rúben Neves says he wants to play in the UEFA Champions League. pic.twitter.com/VpVQ8DC2w0
What’s next?
Wolves will finish their season with a trip to north London to take on Arsenal on Championship Sunday (all kickoffs at 11:30 am ET), while Everton host Bournemouth in a potential win-or-go-down fixture for the Toffees.
Wolves vs Everton, final score: 1-1
34th minute - Hwang Hee-Chan cleans up Adama Traore’s rebound to put Wolves ahead
90th minute +8 - Yerry Mina scrambles home Everton’s late equalizer
How to watch Wolves vs Everton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, SaturdayTV Channel: PeacockOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
Wolves are extremely tough to break down and Ruben Neves has been back to his best in midfield as he’s led their surge away from the relegation zone. Max Kilman, Craig Dawson and Jose Sa have all been superb in defense and Matheus Cunha and Diego Costa have proved a real handful up top in recent games. The reverse fixture was Lopetegui’s first in charge of Wolves and Rayan Ait-Nouri scored a late, late winner at Goodison Park on Boxing Day and things have been heading in an upward direction since then.
Everton were excited to have Dominic Calvert-Lewin back in recent weeks and the midfield runs of Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Alex Iwobi has been key to them staying just above the bottom three. Dyche’s side haven’t been great defensively but Everton know a win this weekend would go a long way to securing their Premier League status. Calvert-Lewin should be fit to feature after a groin injury forced him off at half time against Man City last weekend.
Wolves team news, injuries, lineup
OUT: Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Chiquinho (knee)
#WOLEVE pic.twitter.com/B2PPx8pvMZ
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 20, 2023
Everton team news, injuries, lineup
OUT: Ben Godfrey (groin), Seamus Coleman (hamstring), Dele Alli (groin), Ruben Vinagre (achilles), Andros Townsend (knee), Vitalii Mykolenko (thigh)
Team news is in! 🔵#WOLEVE pic.twitter.com/KuwCoTCjgg
— Everton (@Everton) May 20, 2023
