Joe Thomas: When asked whether Dominic Calvert-Lewin was available to start a second game in four days, Frank Lampard responded: “We’ll see.”
The 25-year-old needs careful management on his return from injury but he is the best answer to Everton’s struggles in front of goal and, with a week until the next game against Fulham, if he can play, he starts for me.
Crucial to him scoring is chances being created for him. I would start Dwight McNeil as a result, and ask him to look to cross into the box where possible. I’d start with him on the left and Anthony Gordon on the right and ask them to target the byline as much as the box.
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I’d stick with the same three in central midfield and be looking for Amadou Onana to break into the box to support Calvert-Lewin. This would be my litmus test for the midfield three - if Everton struggle today then James Garner would come in for either Onana or Idrissa Gueye at Fulham. Demarai Gray starts on the bench in this set up after a difficult few games. He could be an asset from there in the second half.
My team (4-3-3): Pickford: Coleman, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Gueye, Onana, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin, Gordon
Chris Beesley: A third game in a week for Everton coming on the back of three consecutive defeats, including two in the past seven days makes you wonder whether Frank Lampard will shuffle his pack against Crystal Palace? It seems clear that the Blues boss has been impressed by deadline day signing James Garner’s progress in recent weeks but it remains to be seen whether the former Manchester United man has done enough to force his way into the starting line-up.
Hopefully Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be fit enough to spearhead the attack again after his long-awaited first start of the season at Newcastle United on Wednesday and if so, I’d try and find a place for Dwight McNeil on the wing as he might be the best crosser Everton have right now to provide a supply line to their number nine. This means either Anthony Gordon or Demarai Gray has to miss out and the latter’s greater number of minutes of late ensures he drops to the bench this time.
My team (4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Mykolenko, Coady, Tarkowski; Gueye, Onana, Iwobi; Gordon, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin.
Matt Jones: Frank Lampard has rightly professed the need for Everton stability and robustness this season. So it has been no surprise to see a familiar side take to the field in recent weeks.
However, three defeats in succession - including insipid, shot-on-target-less efforts away at Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United - feel like a fair mandate to freshen things up against Crystal Palace.
Those tweaks could begin at full-back, with Lampard himself emphasising the importance of the duo providing width and vertical thrust in his pre-match press conference. Ruben Vinagre may be in with a shout as such, although Palace's searing speed on the break may mean the defensively dependable Vitalii Mykolenko keeps his place on the left for now. Seamus Coleman - who has played Wilfried Zaha professionally in the past - may be asked to go to the well again.
In midfield, James Garner is surely ready for a start, as Everton require a midfielder who will take greater care in possession. He could line up alongside Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye as part of a trio, although the latter duo need to raise their levels to maintain their place.
That does, of course, mean Alex Iwobi has to be pushed back out wide - I know, I know.
But with Anthony Gordon and Demarai Gray toiling in recent weeks, getting the Nigerian further up the field may allow Everton operate with more vim in the final third. On the other flank, Dwight McNeil feels like the man most likely to provide an effective supply line to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who will lead the line again.
My team (4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner, Onana; McNeil, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi
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