Everton manager Sean Dyche has kept changes to a minimum so far but the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United presented several selection dilemmas ahead of next Saturday’s crucial home game against Fulham.
Jordan Pickford, who was outstanding in goal, making several great saves to ensure Everton were not beaten by a much more embarrassing scoreline at Old Trafford, will be assured of his place but those in front of him now have question marks over their inclusion.
Captain Seamus Coleman’s individual error when failing to control Lisandro Martinez’s long punt upfield, allowed Marcus Rashford to square the ball to Anthony Martial for a simple tap-in for United’s second goal and he later left the field holding his leg as Nathan Patterson replaced him so the young Scotland international could be in with a chance of a recall at right-back.
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On the opposite full-back flank, Ben Godfrey was hooked at half-time for Vitalii Mykolenko after being run ragged in the first 45 minutes so his place might be under threat from the Ukrainian.
James Tarkowski and Michael Keane have been Dyche’s first choice centre-back pairing for the past five games but after Everton’s unbeaten run came to an end, the likes of Conor Coady, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate are all waiting in the wings.
Without the suspended Abdoulaye Doucoure, who must now also sit out the games against Fulham and Crystal Palace through suspension after being sent off for raising his hands to Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur, it was also a difficult afternoon for Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana who found themselves overrun in midfield and the pair were replaced by James Garner and Tom Davies respectively who will both be eager to earn starting berths in the engine room.
On the wings, both Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil were on the back foot for long periods and despite being deployed in a more-advanced role in recent weeks, Demarai Gray could move out wide again to replace either of them.
This would potentially free up an extra space up front alongside Ellis Simms, whose position comes under doubt after he missed a golden opportunity on just his third start with Neal Maupay eager to get back in the side and Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepping up his fitness on what has been a long road to recovery.
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