Talking points ahead of Everton vs AS Roma | OneFootball

Everton’s pre-season will come to a close with a final friendly scheduled against Italian giants AS Roma at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.

The results of the pre-season have been less than remarkable. The Blues failed to win against Accrington Stanley and Blackburn Rovers in Lancashire but beat League One side Port Vale 2-1 in a closed-doors friendly at Bramley-Moore Dock.

They were sloppy on the tour of the United States as well, losing 3-0 to Bournemouth and 2-1 against West Ham before recording a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

While results are never the focus of any pre-season, the number of mistakes made by his players already exacerbates the problems David Moyes is dealing with, given the threadbare squad he’s operating with.

Moyes was able to recover his reliable operator James Tarkowski following a four-month absence, but Jarrad Branthwaite had to be left out of the US tour after picking up a niggle against Blackburn Rovers.

New signings Thierno Barry, Mark Travers and Adam Aznou have gotten minutes here and there while the club has also welcomed in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall this week.

The friendly against Roma will also serve as the final test event ahead of the new Premier League season.

Here are the major talking points for Everton:

Fans can soak in the atmosphere of the new stadium

Before the season kicks off, Everton fans will get to soak in the atmosphere of their new waterfront stadium while watching the senior men’s team in action for the first time. The 52,769-seater is set to welcome this many fans for the first time after hosting two test events months before with reduced capacities.

Wifi is also set to be available for fans at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday. While it may take some time getting used to after 133 years at the famed Goodison Park, the process of feeling at home begins with this friendly against AS Roma this weekend.

First glimpse of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in an Everton shirt?

The Toffees announced the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea earlier this week. While he hasn’t had enough time to get up to speed with the rest of his teammates in training sessions yet, there’s a chance the midfielder gets some minutes in the second-half against Roma.

The 26-year-old was part of the Chelsea squad that won the FIFA Club World Cup in the US in June.

Thierno Barry to get his first start in front of home fans?

New signing Thierno Barry is still awaiting his first start in a Blue shirt after signing from Villarreal for £27m. He has gotten sizeable minutes off the bench during the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, replacing Beto in every single game.

Now that David Moyes has a fair idea of the kind of pace, holdup play and threat in the box that Barry brings, he may be tempted to start his new striker in the final pre-season contest.