Our Everton writers, Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley, select their line-ups for the Premier League clash against Burnley at Hill Dickinson Stadium
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Dwight McNeil of Everton during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Everton at St James' Park on February 28, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Dwight McNeil during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Everton at St James' Park on February 28, 2026
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Everton will look to make it back-to-back Premier League victories this evening and end their seven-game winless home run at Hill Dickinson Stadium when they host Burnley (7.30pm kick-off).
The Blues continued their magnificent away form on Saturday with a superb 3-2 success at Newcastle United that mixed quality with character. It was a success that has put them right back in the hunt for European football.
However, if Everton are to achieve manager David Moyes' ambition, they are going to have to improve their results at home. And, while second-from-bottom Burnley are showing plenty of fight, anything less than three points tonight would be deemed insufficient by a set of supporters who are desperate to see a victory at the club's magnificent new home.
What, then, should Blues boss Moyes do in terms of his starting line-up? Our writers have their say...
Joe Thomas
This is a big game and the line-up requires careful thought. The battle for me, as I’m trying to pick my team, is whether to go for the most positive XI - the one I think is best placed to seize the initiative, attack effectively and get the crowd going, or the most pragmatic one, the one I think gives Everton the best chance of getting three points, however they are obtained.
David Moyes will go for the second of those options and deserves credit for sticking to his guns - that is what got Everton the win at Newcastle United at a time when it felt he was under scrutiny.
My team tonight would probably balance the two approaches. This is partly because I think the Blues shouldn’t be complacent about facing a Burnley team that will probably get relegated but is fighting hard, but there should also be recognition that both sides had tough games on Saturday.
I therefore drop Idrissa Gueye because while he was excellent at St James’ Park, he had looked leggy prior to that match and this is a second game in three days.
It’s a tough call between Harrison Armstrong, Tim Iroegbunam and Merlin Rohl but I would probably go with the latter - he’s a big lad, probably the most experienced of the three and did a decent job against Aston Villa, one that deserved more opportunities since.
I would keep Dwight McNeil on the right because it allows Iliman Ndiaye to start on the left, his best position. The caveat would be that I would have Nathan Patterson on the right so there is someone overlapping him. That might provide better balance than having Jake O’Brien at right-back behind Tyler Dibling if the winger isn’t going to get a huge amount of support.
I’m not convinced by McNeil on the right but he was okay there in the wins against Newcastle and Villa and I can see a way in which he stops the team from getting too exposed in the middle and on the right, while still providing an attacking threat.
My hope is this XI can get Everton into a position where players like Dibling andTyrique George can come on with some freedom and earn the confidence that will spur them on to pushing for the starting line up.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Rohl; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, McNeil; Beto.
Chris Beesley
It’s 13 matches in all competitions that the home side has failed to win in an Everton fixture. However, David Moyes insisted in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Burnley that his team don’t go out to try and play any differently at Hill Dickinson Stadium compared to when they’re on the road.
Yet the Blues have now triumphed in 12 Premier League encounters on their travels since the Glaswegian gaffer returned, but after securing four successes on the Mersey waterfront by early December, they haven’t defeated a visitor there for almost three months.
It’s high time that Moyes’ men put that slump to bed and treated some 50,000 loyal but long-suffering home supporters to some of the delights that only a small fraction of the fanbase are enjoying on the away days up and down the country.
We all know that every Premier League game is competitive – this season more than most – but they won’t get a better chance to stop the rot than the visit of Burnley. Moyes has quite rightly also acknowledged that it’s a fixture that his team will be expected to win.
So, given that Everton played with a real intensity against Newcastle United at St James’ Park, they should be expected to come out of the traps in a similarly positive and proactive manner against Scott Parker’s side. Therefore, what worked in Tyneside can also prove successful down at the dock.
Why change a winning side, even if it sprung up some surprising selections? The recall of Dwight McNeil – especially on the right wing – had us all scratching our heads, but the manager must feel vindicated because it worked.
Now it’s time for both the former Claret to show his worth against his old team, along with the rest of the Blues side if they’re serious about pushing for Europe.
This can’t be another spurned opportunity like Bournemouth at home following the win at Fulham.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto.