Everton are looking to close out the season in the right way against Tottenham Hotspur, after a poor run of recent results.
The Toffees are in north London today and are hopeful of getting all three points to avoid finishing the season with a seven-game winless run.
There has been major frustration in recent weeks with Everton throwing away leads, and that has rendered this game much more meaningless than it should be.
Everton’s hopes of European football are effectively over, so today is about securing a top-half finish.
And standing in their way is a Tottenham side desperate to avoid the humiliation of relegation.
Thierno Barry in from the start… thoughts on the final XI of the season? 🫣
Spurs could go down today if they lose and West Ham United beat Leeds United, so they’ll potentially be more up for this game than any other in quite some time.
In the last few moments, David Moyes has named his final starting XI of 2025/26.
Everton’s confirmed XI to face Tottenham – Thierno Barry replaces Beto
Jordan Pickford remains between the sticks, meaning he has now started every Premier League game this season.
Where will Everton be in the table by 6pm on Sunday afternoon? 🥲
The Blues could finish as low as 14th… 😫
The defence is unchanged, with Jake O’Brien staying at right-back, and James Tarkowski and Michael Keane in the middle. Vitalii Mykolenko is on the left.
Tim Iroegbunam and James Garner are in midfield, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall operating as the number 10 again. Idrissa Gana Gueye remains out.
Merlin Rohl gets the nod once more on the right side, with Iliman Ndiaye on the left.
Up top, Thierno Barry gets the nod over Beto, which some will see as a surprise.
Beto is one goal away from 10 in the league, and would have fancied his chances of reaching that milestone today.
Everton simply cannot finish seven games winless
This game really should have had so much more riding on it.
It has been massively disappointing to see Everton throw away so many points, and there are a number of reasons for that.
David Moyes has been backed by Angus Kinnear and it’s thought The Friedkin Group also still really support the Scot to take the club forward.
But some fans are starting to lose patience, and not winning today will only lead to more criticism of the manager.
There’s no denying the great job he’s done, considering where Everton were when he came in.
But if he finishes with seven games without a win, it really ought to lead to some important conversations within the hierarchy about his position.
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