Everton manager David Moyes held his pre-Burnley press conference from Finch Farm on Monday and there were some interesting points that stood out.
Moyes heads into the game in desperate need of a win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but the 62-year-old’s comments from Finch Farm provided more questions than answers.
A big victory at the weekend against Newcastle United now needs to be matched by Everton against a struggling Burnley side.
The Everton boss surprised a lot of fans by starting Dwight McNeil against the Magpies on Saturday afternoon.
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Everton manager David Moyes.
Supporters could witness even more unexpected changes on Tuesday, with Moyes’ press conference stirring up even more uncertainty on Merseyside.
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David Moyes shares mysterious Everton injury response
Injuries have not been kind to the Blues this season and Everton have recently lost Charly Alcaraz to an injury.
The Argentine midfielder is set to miss a number of weeks through his issue and Moyes has revealed that Seamus Coleman has suffered another setback.
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However, the press conference took an unexpected twist when Moyes suggested there were other issues that he wasn’t willing to comment on.
“We’ve got a couple of things that I wouldn’t reveal at the moment,” said Moyes.
“But obviously, Charly Alcaraz is out and is not back on the grass and Seamus Coleman picked up a little bit of a nick during training on Friday and missed out at the weekend.”
This may well suggest that Everton have players who may require a late fitness assessment ahead of the game against Burnley on Tuesday.
The cynical may think that there could be something more serious to have happened behind the scenes, with Everton potentially needing a second opinion on a possible injury scare.
There will be no hiding on Tuesday evening when the team sheet comes out at 6:15pm.
Thierno Barry and Beto are still under pressure to score more
Moyes could not have asked for much more from Beto and Thierno Barry at the weekend as the pair both found the back of the net.
However, Moyes made it very clear that recent improvements from the pair are not enough to take his pressure off the two strikers.
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Beto celebrates his goal for Everton in the away victory against Newcastle United.
Moyes urged Barry and Beto to score more goals, with their respective returns of six and four not good enough for a side that wants to qualify for Europe.
It was also noteworthy that Moyes touched upon the notion of playing the pair up front together.
“Two centre forwards may be the future. Will we do it? We might do if we need to but I don’t think all the time,” Moyes admitted.
Premier League 25/26 Goals conceded
Burnley 56
West Ham 54
Wolves 51
Leeds United 47
The Everton duo will have another big opportunity to add to their tallies against Scott Parker’s side, who have conceded more goals (56) than anyone this term.
Moyes doesn’t think there’s an ‘expectation’ on Everton to beat Burnley
“I don’t really think there’s a huge expectation on us; I think we’ll just do what we’re doing,” said Moyes ahead of Burnley’s visit.
Clearly, Everton’s record at the Hill Dickinson Stadium has not been good enough, but there should be an expectation on the Blues to take three points on Tuesday evening.
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Gary Neville quote on Goodison Park's shaky gantry.
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Moyes has pushed the conversation of European qualification at Everton this season.
Recent results have seen the 62-year-old ease away from the Europe talk of late, but three points against the Clarets could propel Everton up to 43 points.
Even bigger than the club’s European hopes would be making a start at fixing the dreadful home form on the Liverpool docks.
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