Everton boss David Moyes has been handed a further selection headache ahead of Nottingham Forest’s visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium at the weekend.
Michael Keane was ruled out of Everton’s clash against Bournemouth on Tuesday at the last minute. And, with Idrissa Gana Gueye being suspended, Seamus Coleman being injured and Merlin Rohl continuing his suspension on the sideline, David Moyes’ threadbare side took to the south coast.
Everton started brightly and were largely the better side on Tuesday to start with, looking to recover from their loss to Newcastle United on Saturday.
However, a yellow card for midfielder Tim Iroegbunam means that the Toffees will now have to really think outside the box against Forest at the weekend.
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Tim Ireogbunam has picked up five yellow cards and will now miss the Premier League game vs Nottingham Forest
Everton already had a midfield crisis against Bournemouth. Gueye’s red card against Manchester United alongside Merlin Rohl’s injury saw Iroegbunam and Carlos Alcaraz start in the middle of the park.
The Argentine has rarely featured from the off for the Toffees this season, with just two starts in the Premier League – and in an unnatural central midfield position, that was made the case when James Garner was forced into right-back after Keane’s omission.
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Both Garner and Iroegbunam went into the game needing to avoid suspension, having picked up four yellow cards across the campaign. Five cautions is enough to warrant a suspension.
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And, when the latter picked up a booking for a foul midway through the first half, it now means that Alcaraz will likely need another midfield partner in an already unnatural central midfield pairing.
Who could replace Tim Iroegbunam at the weekend for Everton?
Initial thoughts are Seamus Coleman being utilised, but he’s injured and that would leave Jake O’Brien needing to come in out wide.
Of course, Michael Keane and Jarrad Branthwaite being unable to play means that the Irishman is needed at centre-back, pulling first-choice midfielder Garner into the defensive line.
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That’s why Alcaraz started – but with Iroegbunam needing a replacement, it’s likely that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be drafted alongside Alcaraz and into the centre of the park.
There’s a huge possibility that we could see Iliman Ndiaye start in the hole as a replacement for Dewsbury-Hall at the weekend, with Tyler Dibling or Dwight McNeil coming in on the right to fill his void.
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