Everton head into the Nottingham Forest clash this weekend fresh off the back of a brilliant win on the south coast.
David Moyes’ side defeated Bournemouth 1-0 on Tuesday evening, with Jack Grealish netting the winning goal.
Everton will be desperate to make it two wins on the bounce against Forest, who are just one point above the relegation zone.
What type of reception does Sean Dyche deserve on Saturday? 🤐
“The Toffees are a strong bunch in many ways, it may be good, bad or indifferent [the reaction he gets], but they know deep down the work that we did.
“I know there is plenty of them because they all came and told me.”
Sean Dyche on how he will be welcomes back to Everton.
Nottingham Forest FC v FC Porto - UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD3
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Sean Dyche will be returning to Merseyside for the first time since he was sacked by the Friedkin Group in January, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets.
With all that said, we’ve tried to predict the starting line-up Moyes will go for at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Everton manager David Moyes.
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David Moyes could drop Thierno Barry vs Nottingham Forest
After such a brilliant performance in mid-week, Moyes is unlikely to make many changes to his starting line-up.
Although, Everton fans weren’t happy with Thierno Barry’s performance, as he failed to score yet again and was quite sloppy in possession at times.
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Sean Dyche should be worried ahead of Saturday’s trip to Merseyside! 😳
An overview of Sean Dyche's Premier League away record against Everton.
Credit: Getty Images/Jack Thomas.
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Moyes said he wanted goals from Barry before the trip to the Vitality: “We need him to come up with goals, that is part of the job if you are a number nine. But we are happy with the way he is playing at the moment. He is certainly beginning to get used to the Premier League and Everton.”
So, the Scotsman may decide to go with Beto up front, but other than that, it’s an unchanged team with Jake O’Brien retaining his spot at centre-back.
Michael Keane missed the Bournemouth clash with a knock, and is unlucky not to come straight back in, but Everton players were impressed by O’Brien’s display in his most favoured position.
Everton predicted XI vs Nottingham Forest.
Could we finally see Tyler Dibling?
There is a slim chance we may see Tyler Dibling start at the weekend, considering this will be Everton’s third game in seven days.
Moyes may opt to rest some key players, with Iliman Ndiaye looking a little off the pace on Tuesday, quite unusually.
Why do you think Everton are receiving SO MANY yellow cards this season? 😫
An overview of Everton's disciplinary record for the 2025/26 campaign.
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So, Dibling may get only his second start of the season in place of Ndiaye, or he could even play centrally instead of Carlos Alcaraz.
Moyes has hinted Dibling will play a lot more during this festive period, especially when Ndiaye jets off to AFCON.
“We’re looking forward to getting Tyler more minutes as we go along and get him featuring in the games,” the 62-year-old told the media last month.
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