Will Everton’s formidable away form throw open title race?

As a man with 745 games managed, David Moyes knows his way better than most around the Premier League block, particularly when it comes to winning away games.

Since the 62-year-old returned to Merseyside for a second spell 14 months ago, Everton have won the most matches on the road of any Premier League side other than Arsenal.

The Toffees are unbeaten away from home since mid-December and next travel to Emirates Stadium on Saturday with a record of four wins in their past five away matches.

When Everton walk out at the Emirates, it will be 428 days since Moyes returned as manager with the club one point above the relegation zone.

They will begin the weekend sitting eighth in the Premier League and just five points off fifth – a position which could result in Champions League football.

Qualifying for any form of European football would represent a titanic turnaround for a club so recently embroiled in points deductions and relegation battles and, while Hill Dickinson Stadium is made for European nights, it is Everton’s away form that has propelled their climb.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes they can pose a serious test of Arsenal’s title credentials.

If the Blues were to manage a seismic shock against the leaders, Manchester City could close back within four points by winning on Saturday night at West Ham United – and with a game still in hand.

“I think in the past, you go there and you’re a little bit worried and hope you might be able to get a result,” he said.

“This year it’s a bit different. You’re going to the team seven points clear at the top of the table but I think it’s Arsenal that’ll be more worried.

Everton’s 1-0 triumph at Arsenal in 2021 remains their only Premier League victory in 29 attempts in this away fixture, although improvements on the road this season have also included wins at the toughest grounds.

When Everton faced Manchester United in November, they had won once at Old Trafford since 1992.

And yet, despite Idrissa Gueye’s bizarre dismissal, Everton rallied to win 1-0 for Moyes’ first victory away from home against his former employers.

When Everton travelled to Villa Park in January, Unai Emery’s side had won their past 11 home matches in all competitions and were third in the table. Moyes’ men once again enacted an unlikely away win.

And in their most recent away match, the Toffees won at a Newcastle United side who came so close to beating Barcelona at St James’ Park on Tuesday night.

Results on the road fly in the face of Everton’s struggles at the Hill Dickinson this season, although Moyes’ approach is simply better suited to playing away from home.

A side who prefer to operate without the ball, Everton average the lowest possession in away games of any Premier League team (39.3%), while only Arsenal have conceded fewer goals and kept more clean sheets.

Crucially for a trip to north London, the Toffees are adept at defending from set-plays.

Moyes enjoyed a maiden win at the Emirates on his most recent visit with West Ham in 2023 and, while it would remain a huge shock for him to oversee a repeat result against a team who have lost just once at home this season, Osman believes that Everton’s away formula can force some kind of result.

“Everton have a very distinct way of playing,” he said. “They stop you going through the middle of the pitch. They’re snappy in there and they give you the wide areas.

“Everton have generally had at least three centre-halves in the back four, sometimes even four, who love to go and win the ball from crosses.

Another key element to Everton’s resilience on the road has been the outstanding form of individual players such as Pickford, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye, but Osman believes that James Garner deserves particular praise.

The 24-year-old has played at right-back and left-back this season but has shone in recent matches in his preferred central midfield role.

Garner comfortably tops the Toffees’ metrics this season for everything from touches and tackles, to chances created and expected assists.

“Garner is a throwback, and a very pleasant one, to an all-round midfielder,” said Osman, who made 437 appearances for the club in midfield between 2003 and 2016.

“He wants to defend, wants to be competitive, wants to get from box to box, wants to create goals. I am such an admirer of his.

Osman believes that another standout performance against an Arsenal midfield featuring Declan Rice can help cement Garner’s own prospects of a first England call-up.

“I would be amazed if he’s not in this next England squad,” he added.

“I’d argue his form’s been better than that of any other midfielder in the role, and I’d certainly put him up against Declan Rice in that conversation, and I think Rice is outstanding.