Everton make the short trip to Burnley at the weekend with a number of players remaining unavailable for the Toffees.
On the back of two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, David Moyes will be hoping to get back on track against one of the struggling outfits.
Everton still feel unlucky to have lost against Arsenal on Saturday after the penalty decision that went against them.
However, the Blues must now put that behind them as they focus on a Burnley side that is currently sitting second bottom in the table.
Although Everton were missing some key players at the weekend, there were still some positive performances at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
And there is certainly one Everton player who appears to have secured his spot in the starting XI for the game at Turf Moor.
What David Moyes said about Everton’s Tim Iroegbunam
After serving his one-game suspension against Nottingham Forest, Tim Iroegbunam returned to the squad against Chelsea and the starting XI at the weekend.
Moyes praised Iroegbunam after facing Arsenal, but the 62-year-old doubled down on his comments during Tuesday’s press conference.
Speaking to the media, Moyes waxed lyrical about the 22-year-old midfielder ahead of the game against the Clarets.
What did you make of Tim Iroegbunam’s performance vs Arsenal?
“We like Tim and we think that Tim has a lot of really good attributes. I thought he played well at the weekend and we want him to continue,” said Moyes.
“There’s other things that we want him to do and we want him to improve. We’re at him all the time and we want him to keep his training levels really high.
“We’re looking for him to play forward and make key passes when required. So, all those other things we’re on his case as much as we can, but really pleased with how he’s done.”
Iroegbunam is wanting to keep Idrissa Gana Gueye out of the side at Everton for when he makes his return to Merseyside.
With the 36-year-old’s contract only spanning until the end of the season, Iroegbunam has his eyes firmly set on the long-term.
Iroegbunam set for Everton start against Burnley
With the midfield options still so light, these comments appear to almost guarantee Iroegbunam his spot in the starting XI on Saturday.
Interestingly, Moyes did comment on Merlin Rohl, who did come off the bench at the weekend against Arsenal.
If both were fully fit, who are you starting against Burnley? 🤔
Presuming James Garner makes everyone's starting midfield…
The German made his first return to the side on the back of his hernia operation last month.
“We’ve just got Merlin Rohl back; still needing to get up to match fitness, but at least we’re getting some of them back,” said Moyes.
With Rohl seemingly still slightly off it in terms of his fitness being at the required level to make the starting XI, Iroegbunam will surely get the nod.
Everton were impressed with Rohl in training when he first joined and a healthy battle between him and Iroegbunam could begin to heat up behind the scenes.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
