Who should Everton manager David Moyes start at left-back against Hull City if Vitalii Mykolenko is ruled out? Our writers have their say...
Everton's Scottish manager David Moyes looks on ahead of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Everton's Scottish manager David Moyes looks on ahead of the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
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Everton manager David Moyes may have to make a change at left-back (Image: Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images)
Vitalii Mykolenko has played the full 90 minutes in all seven of Everton’s matches in all competitions this season with the Blues making an unbeaten start to the 2026/27 campaign. However, after featuring in Ukraine’s 1-0 win in Hungary on September 25, winning his 55th cap for his country, the 27-year-old has been sidelined for their subsequent three internationals.
With Everton returning to action against newly promoted Hull City on Sunday, manager David Moyes is now sweating on the fitness of his only recognised left-back for the trip to MKM Stadium.
If Mykolenko isn’t fit enough to feature in East Yorkshire, then who should the Blues turn to? Members of the ECHO sportsdesk have their say...
READ MORE: How Everton could line up vs Hull City as David Moyes sweats over star and two other key calls
Chris Beesley
Back on January 31 this year, the first time that he had all four of his centre-backs available, David Moyes started with the full quartet for the game at Brighton & Hove Albion when Vitalli Mykolenko was unavailable. In opposition boss Fabian Hurzeler’s native Germany, they have a phrase for a defence of four centre-backs – Viererketter aus Innenverteidgern – a big term for a big set of players as, for what was surely a first, central defenders James Tarkowski and Michael Keane were shorter than both the full-backs, Jake O’Brien, who played on the right, and Jarrad Branthwaite, deployed on the left.
There is no doubting that Branthwaite is a good enough footballer to play left-back but even though he is now getting to a point where he says Moyes can trust him to play more than once a week, I’d rather not have someone who was restricted to just 10 matches last season because of repeated problems with hamstring injuries, threatening to stretch them again by bombing up and down the wing.
Therefore, providing both men come back unscathed from the last of England’s four internationals over this break, against Czechia last night, I’d much rather deploy James Garner in the role.
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Despite being right-footed, the man who ultimately became Everton’s Player of the Season, started 2025/26 there and didn’t let anybody down. In fact, he even scored a goal while playing left-back in the 2-0 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Blues’ first competitive fixture at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
If you add into the mix the fact that with Christian Norgaard fit again, the central midfield area is again looked congested with Harrison Armstrong and Hayden Hackney also vying for starting berths, then if Mykolenko is ruled out, Garner appears a more sensible choice to fill in as a square peg in a round hole.
Vitalii Mykolenko of Everton
Vitalii Mykolenko of Everton(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
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Paul Wheelock
There are two injuries Everton don't need before January - and that's at left-back and up front. Thierno Barry is carrying the burden of being the Blues' sole centre-forward well, with five goals in seven games, but it would be fair to argue that Vitalii Mykolenko is having just as an impressive start to the season on the quiet. Hopefully, then, the injury that saw him miss Ukraine's final three matches of the international break is not serious and he will take his place in an unchanged defensive line-up at Hull City on Sunday.
If he isn't, there is one move Everton shouldn't contemplate making - and that's shifting Jarrad Branthwaite to left-back. Now, I've got no doubt the England international would do more than a good job there. But it's no surprise that the Blues have kept five clean sheets in seven matches with Branthwaite being back fit and back alongside club captain James Tarkowski, who is in excellent form himself, at the heart of the defence.
So I agree with Chris - I'd move to James Garner to full-back. But not to left-back, where he did feature for a short period in England's 7-0 demolition of Croatia at the weekend. Instead, I'd shift Ainsley Maitland-Niles across to the left and play Garner at right-back.
The fully fit Christian Norgaard could then come into the midfield as a No.6, giving Harrison Armstrong and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall license to push forward.
But, as I said, I'm hoping come 12.45pm on Sunday, when the team news drops, that Norgaard will be among the substitutes, as that will likely mean Mykolenko is starting.
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