Everton boss David Moyes may have stumbled across his secret formula for wins against sides in the bottom half of the Premier League table during the 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
David Moyes has utilised a number of players in his ranks this season, with the Scot picking no fewer than 19 players in the top-flight so far this season.
On the whole, a number of those Everton players are first-choice stars – with the likes of Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski, Jack Grealish and star man Iliman Ndiaye all nailing down their places in the starting XI.
Though it was Moyes’ utilisation of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the No.8 role, and the inclusion of Carlos Alcaraz in the hole, that may just see Tim Iroegbunam really struggle for minutes at the Hill Dickinson Stadium going forward.
Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Tim Iroegbunam will find it incredibly difficult to fight his way back into the starting XI at Everton
A midfield trio of James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carlos Alcaraz was utilised with good effect against Nottingham Forest.
Dewsbury-Hall’s cross was turned into his own net by Nikola Milenkovic, before his late strike sealed the win – while Garner and Alcaraz’s work off the ball made it incredibly difficult for Forest to utilise their own stars in Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson to full effect.
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The midfield trio was selected after Iroegbunam picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Bournemouth in midweek, with doubts over how attacking the lineup would be.
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But the performance went about as well as anyone would have anticipated, and despite Iroegbunam coming into the fore for the next clash against Chelsea, the same can be said of Idrissa Gana Gueye – which could make Iroegbunam out as Everton’s current fifth-choice midfielder.
Tim Iroegbunam may have his last chance of reprieve over the next month
There will be minutes available for Iroegbunam over the Christmas period, in a potential last-chance saloon for the former Aston Villa star.
Idrissa Gana Gueye is expected to progress far into the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, and if they make the final, he won’t return until January 19.
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Post-Chelsea at the weekend, that would give Iroegbunam six games to stamp his mark on the club if he can burst ahead of Garner, Alcaraz and Dewsbury-Hall in the lineup.
With Merlin Rohl returning from injury in the coming weeks, that could be sabotaged somewhat, and so it’s imperative that Iroegbunam seizes his chance in the early stages of that run before he finds himself as a potentially sixth-choice midfielder on Merseyside.
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