AFC Bournemouth
Striker Joshua King knows AFC Bournemouth must start to find some consistency following a Jekyll and Hyde start to their fifth Premier League campaign.
King has featured in all four games as the Cherries have taken four points from their first four games – a tally matched in their first two seasons in the top flight.
The 27-year-old frontman netted from the spot to pave the way for the 2-1 win at Aston Villa and was also involved in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on the opening day.
King, the Cherries’ all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League with 43, also started as they tasted defeat against champions Manchester City and Leicester City.
Asked for his opinion on their start, King told afcb.co.uk: “It’s been a very mixed bag. I thought we let ourselves down against Sheffield United. We should have beaten them but didn’t perform at our highest level.
“We played a high-performance and energetic game against Aston Villa and won.
“I thought we put in a good performance against Manchester City and them and Liverpool are the two best teams in the league.
“I didn’t think anyone played well against Leicester and we all knew it. It’s in the back of everyone’s mind that it was a bad performance and we want to make it right against Everton.
“They have made a few new signings and have a good team. Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi are two good acquisitions and Richarlison is playing well and scoring goals.
“Every time we play Everton, it’s a good game to watch. We’re both attacking and both box to box which is probably why they have put it on television on Sunday.
“We haven’t performed how we should have in the first four games and maybe the international break came at a good time because we can regroup and focus on Sunday because we need three points.”
Four of King’s goals in the Premier League have come against the Toffees, the Norway international having netted a penalty as the Cherries clawed back a 2-0 deficit to register a 2-2 draw in the corresponding fixture last season.
King added: “Three of my four goals against Everton have come at Goodison Park. I enjoy playing at their stadium, I don’t know why. It’s intense and compact.
“I try to score in every game but you can’t score in every game unless you are Ronaldo or Messi.
“A lot of people are going to be watching because the game is on television and that brings a bit more focus on us so we know we need to perform.”
The Toffees have had a good start to the season, taking seven points from their first four games, and boss Eddie Howe complimented their team and Marco Silva.
He said: “The games between Everton and us have been really entertaining, high scoring and end to end. Both teams have been better going forward than defensively, but it has created good spectacles.
“They’ve started the season really well. They’ve got some very good players; they play a style of play that their supporters enjoy watching. We know that they’re a high-level team and we’ll have to perform well to win.
“Naturally, it takes time to put your print on to a team and Marco has had time now to start that process. I think they’re very strong and they’ve recruited well, and they’re going to have high hopes for the season.
“From our perspective, we know that we have to perform better than we did against Leicester in the last game and I’m very confident that we will.”
