Joe Thomas - Tweak to system can help Alli flourish
Salomon Rondon starts for me. Everton played reasonably well against Chelsea and found themselves in some promising attacking positions. Had they a target man up top they could well have scored. Rondon offers that presence and, with the threat Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson pose out wide, I would love to see him causing problems for a back line that struggled to deal with Keiffer Moore last week.
Abdoulaye Doucoure and Alex Iwobi battled hard against Chelsea and would retain their spots. It would be great to get a glimpse of Amadou Onana but he will likely need time to gain match fitness and work with the squad.
I would then like to try something slightly different and have Dele Alli and Anthony Gordon supporting Rondon. Alli would work a little deeper to offer some creativity ahead of Doucoure and Iwobi and I would play Gordon off Rondon, hopefully allowing him to pick up loose balls created by the striker's work and help pull defenders out of position for Alli to exploit.
My team (5-3-2): Pickford; Mykolenko, Tarkowski, Coady, Holgate, Patterson; Doucore, Iwobi, Alli; Gordon, Rondon
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Chris Beesley - Keane and Coady get nod in revamped three-man defence
The biggest call for Everton manager Frank Lampard going to Aston Villa seems to be over whether Salomon Rondon should spearhead the attack after serving his suspension. As much as I fear the veteran Venezuelan - who netted just once in 20 Premier League outings last term - isn't the long-term answer for the Blues and it remains imperative that they sign another striker before the transfer window closes, I think he has to come in on this occasion with Demarai Gray missing out.
Everton played well for prolonged periods against a very talented and expensively-assembled Chelsea side but their lack of a natural centre-forward cost them dearly and the visitors' golden oldies at the back, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly were able to relax and play walking football at times at Goodison Park (they both pulled up with cramp at various points though so I dread to think how they'd cope when facing an actual striker!)
Lampard is forced into a couple of changes in defence with Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina - the Colombian with lamentable predictability - now both facing prolonged periods on the sidelines through injury. Conor Coady - who hardly ever missed a game for Wolverhampton Wanderers - slots straight into the side following his loan move from Molineux, and while Mason Holgate did well as a substitute against Thomas Tuchel's men, I'd be inclined to complete the triumvirate with Michael Keane.
I'd love it if the summer's biggest signing Amadou Onana could also be handed his debut but unlike Coady, he's not yet a seasoned Premier League campaigner so depending on what Lampard has seen at Finch Farm so far, perhaps the big Belgian might have to do with a slot on the bench in the week of his 21st birthday?
My team (3-4-3): Pickford; Tarkowski, Keane, Coady; Patterson, Doucoure, Iwobi, Mykolenko; McNeil, Gordon, Rondon.
Matt Jones - Everton need a starting focal point, even for a half
Events at Goodison Park last Saturday have led to some more straightforward and more complicated decisions for Frank Lampard at Aston Villa on Saturday.
With no Ben Godfrey or Yerry Mina, the central defensive trio feels obvious, with Mason Holgate likely to come in on the right of the three - his ideal position and system - and Conor Coady to slot into the middle, a position he knows inside out.
James Tarkowski will be to the left of those two, while manning the flanks Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson will hope to build on impressive displays against Chelsea. The same could be said for the midfield duo of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Alex Iwobi, with Amadou Onana surely not ready to start just yet. If it's a tight game late on, he can cause chaos in punishing lunchtime heat.
It's in the forward positions where there are tough calls to make, although not necessarily from a positive perspective. While Lampard hinted Salomon Rondon is not fit to start, it feels like Everton will need some focal point to start the game, even if it is for just under an hour.
Meanwhile, none of Demarai Gray, Anthony Gordon, Dele Alli or Dwight McNeil were especially effective against Chelsea. For this one, I'd give the nod to the latter and the former of that intriguing quartet, but it feels like a fixture where the two left out can play a role from the bench.
My team (5-4-1): Pickford; Patterson, Holgate, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; McNeil, Iwobi, Doucoure, Gray; Rondon
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