Everton are back in Premier League action again tonight, as they travel to Craven Cottage to face a tough Fulham side under floodlights.
It marks the third meeting of these two sides, with today’s hosts having claimed victory in the earlier two clashes, first on the opening day of the league, and later on penalties in the EFL Cup.
The expectation is that, with the backing of their home crowd at last, they will roar to another easy victory.
Especially when looking at the form book, despite Marco Silva’s men hardly posting the most spectacular run.
A home win over Arsenal exactly a month ago does stand out, but the Toffees are actually yet to taste victory in the Premier League since early December.
Sean Dyche has this torrid run, plus a huge injury crisis to contend with tonight.
Here’s our predicted XI for Everton vs Fulham…
Despite his heroics in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace, and being left hopeless against Luton Town, Joao Virginia will naturally have to bow out from his goalkeeping position after an enjoyable stint.
Jordan Pickford, who has made himself a ‘hero’ in the eyes of former Everton boss Sam Allardyce and many fans since his £30m move in 2017, will mark the first of three changes from last time out.
He will sit behind a back three, as Dyche could well shuffle the defence to account for the limited personnel at his disposal.
Naturally, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite will remain, whilst the managerial favourite Michael Keane also comes into the side too.
They will be flanked by the ever-present Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson, the latter of which is unlikely to receive competition for his spot just yet as Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman remain doubtful.
Amadou Onana and James Garner will then make up the midfield pairing, as always, and offer a screen for that back five to allow the front three to flex their creative muscles.
Whilst Dwight McNeil has been a mainstay under Dyche, given the two shared a successful spell at Burnley too, tonight could finally see him dropped in order to rest him and offer more offensive threat.
He should be replaced by Arnaut Danjuma, who will likely tuck narrower at times to aid Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front. The Englishman always seems to be preferred to Beto.
Then, with Jack Harrison on the other flank, he also boasts the tactical flexibility to come inside and operate in between the lines as a roaming attacking midfielder.
This front three will hope to cause problems to Fulham’s backline and contribute to a fine result on the road at last.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
