Our Everton writers pick their XI for the clash at Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Charly Alcaraz of Everton replaces team-mate Abdoulaye Doucoure during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Everton and AFC Bournemouth at Goodison Park on February 08, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Fresh from their 10-day break and a training camp in the United Arab Emirates, Everton take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Blues go into this game on a seven-match unbeaten run and have looked revitalised under David Moyes in recent weeks. They go into this weekend's game 15 points clear of the relegation zone.
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Wolves are five points clear at the start of the weekend matches and will still have some concerns. They are without star player Matheus Cunha for this fixture too after he was sent off in the FA Cup loss to Bournemouth last weekend.
Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley will be in attendance at Molineux for the game and have picked their XI for the match.
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Joe Thomas
More of the same, it seems, for this one. Reports from Abu Dhabi were positive and it looks like Seamus Coleman and Armando Broja are making progress.
Both could return soon but not for this weekend and, with the international break that follows West Ham next weekend, it seems daft to rush either back this month.
Nathan Patterson and Youssef Chermiti returned just before the recent break but it’s a tough argument for either to force their way into a team unbeaten in seven league games. But they do strengthen the bench - a huge bonus given the paucity of options at Moyes’ disposal through February.
So it comes down to Abdoulaye Doucoure or Carlos Alcaraz. Both have played well in their recent starts and I think Alcaraz has done enough to warrant the buzz around him. He’s spent a long time and clocked up a lot of miles looking for a place to settle and push his career forward. It just feels like him and the Blues might be a perfect match.
I’d start Doucoure though. I’ve no idea which Wolves will turn up - they seem to swing from the sublime to the ridiculous. Without Matheus Cunha the threat should diminish but I’m still approaching this thinking it would be really significant to avoid defeat - more from a symbolic perspective, I do think Everton are safe already.
Doucoure feels a slightly more solid option in a potentially tough game, away from home and under the lights against a club that need to win. Starting Doucoure always provide the option to bring Alcaraz on for a boost too.
My team (4-4-1-1): Pickford; Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, O’Brien; Harrison, Gueye, Doucoure, Garner, Lindstrom; Beto
Chris Beesley
Abdoulaye Doucoure isn’t getting his contract automatically renewed but that doesn’t mean the midfielder isn’t an important part of David Moyes’ Everton team right now. Having been handed a one-match ban for picking up a post-match second yellow card after the Merseyside Derby, Doucoure was suspended for the 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.Despite understudy Carlos Alcaraz providing both an assist and then the winning goal at Selhurst Park, Doucoure then came straight back in for the Manchester United home game and promptly scored himself in the 2-2 draw. A trip to Brentford then followed but Doucoure missed the 1-1 draw as his wife was about to give birth but with mother and baby both doing well, the 32-year-old linked up with his team-mates at their warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi.Given his importance to the way that Everton have played over the past couple of years, expect to see the former Watford man earning an immediate recall again against Wolverhampton Wanderers, even though the Argentinian loan player who took his place on those two visits to the capital was again impressive at the Gtech Community Stadium.
With Moyes still without the legion of injured stars in his squad, the decision over who occupies the most-advanced central midfield role seems to be the only real selection dilemma he faces right now with the rest of the side picking itself.My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Mykolenko, Tarkowski, Branthwaite; Gueye, Garner; Lindstrom, Doucoure, Harrison; Beto