A look at the potential changes to the starting XI that David Moyes could make for Everton's home game with Tottenham Hotspur
After being ineligible to play for Everton against parent club Manchester City on Saturday, loan star Jack Grealish looks set to return at home to Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday. The first £100m English footballer has made an impressive start to life on Merseyside.
And after picking up the first Premier League Player of the Month award in the week of his 30th birthday, after providing four assists in his first two starts for the Blues in the competition, he netted a first-ever stoppage-time winner at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the last game there, to break his scoring duck for the club and complete a 2-1 comeback victory to deny Crystal Palace from extending their record-breaking unbeaten run to 20 matches.
In Jack Grealish’s absence at the Etihad Stadium, Carlos Alcaraz, who also impressed against the Eagles after coming on as a half-time substitute, was deployed on the left wing.
But he endured a much quieter afternoon before being replaced by Merlin Rohl with 20 minutes to go. Although the Argentinian could switch back to the central ‘number 10’ role he was deployed in against Oliver Glasner’s side, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall looking like the first choice in that position, the signing from Flamengo appears vulnerable to dropping back to the bench.
That’s also where Tyler Dibling and Dwight McNeil, a couple of late substitutes against Pep Guardiola’s men, are likely to remain with Iliman Ndiaye nailing down the third attacking midfield berth after a particularly impressive first half display against Manchester City, putting a couple of chances on a plate for Beto, before being denied an opening goal himself when Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped his effort over the bar.
With Beto spurning those opportunities, the chopping and changing between himself and Thierno Barry, who came on for him after 75 minutes, could continue but the £27m summer signing from Villarreal is yet to get off the mark.
Idrissa Gueye and James Garner have been the incumbent pair for most of the season in central midfield when injuries haven’t forced the latter to be deployed as an auxiliary full-back and the most natural decision would seemingly be for them to continue their partnership.
But there is now at least increased competition through the aforementioned Rohl’s return to fitness and Tim Iroegbunam offering a different dimension in the engine room.
In defence, Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitalii Mykolenko have formed the back four whenever the Ukraine international has been fit, so any potential change in that department would depend on the condition of Jarrad Branthwaite, whose stop-start fitness stretching back to the summer has ensured he is yet to kick a ball in competitive action so far this season.
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