Our writers name the teams they'd pick for Everton's trip to Preston North End in the Carabao Cup
David Moyes (Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
David Moyes (Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
View Image
Everton's cup campaign begins on Wednesday night when they make the short journey to Deepdale to take on Preston North End of the Championship in the Carabao Cup.
The trip will bring back some fond memories for David Moyes, who served Preston with distinction as a player and a manager, but who should the Scot select in his Blues XI tonight?
Here are the teams our writers would pick:
Connor O'Neill
The first thing tonight is how strong David Moyes goes. I think a lot of Blues supporters are still scared by last year’s defeat to Wolves.Which is why Jordan Pickford should start in goal, with Merlin Rohl at right-back, Vitalii Mykolenko on the other side and Jake O’Brien and James Tarkowski at the heart of the defence.The only reason Jarrad Branthwaite doesn't start is because the club clearly managing his minutes and two games in a matter of days might be asking too much.In midfield, Hayden Hackney, Harrison Armstrong and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should start in the middle, with Iliman Ndiaye and Tyler Dibling on either flank.Up top, Thierno Barry should again get the nod to continue his goalscoring run.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Rohl, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Hackney, Dewsbury-Hall; Dibling, Armstrong; Ndiaye; Barry.
Joe Thomas
Even before Angus Kinnear's comments last week, and his response to questions about this fixture, David Moyes would surely have known he would need to go strong for this game. Preston have endured a tough start to the Championship but they remain a team that could pose problems if Everton don't take this game seriously. And Everton, quite simply, HAVE to take the cups seriously. For me that doesn't necessarily mean playing a full-strength side, but it should be pretty close. I would, for instance, give Jarrad Branthwaite a break for fear of giving him too much to do, too soon. Jake O'Brien would come in for me. Elsewhere, I would start Tyler Dibling for fear that his promising summer is not halted by lack of opportunity, but I would start Iliman Ndiaye and Thierno Barry in the hope of pulling away early. I spoke to Michael Ball in the week and he highlighted Arsenal's approach to the Coventry City game as an example he would like to follow. I agree with the former defender - I want Everton to start hard and fast and hopefully seize control of this tie. The reward for that would be the ability to rotate later in the fixture, when I would look to the likes of Adam Aznou, Nathan Patterson, Michael Keane, Carlos Alcaraz, Beto and Brennan Johnson - but my hope would be to use them to build on something Everton already have, rather than use them from the start. My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Rohl, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Hackney, Dewsbury-Hall; Dibling, Armstrong; Ndiaye; Barry. FOLLOW OUR EVERTON FC FACEBOOK PAGE!Latest EFC news and analysis from via the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated FB page