Sean Dyche must ease his injury crisis by unleashing Everton’s £22m maestro

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Everton have enjoyed just a four-day break between today’s clash and their last, having likely returned to Merseyside buoyed by that performance, but aware that an added cutting-edge is needed if they are to truly put these top sides to the sword.

Tottenham Hotspur got off very lucky last Saturday, given the dominance exhibited by their visitors.

Despite racing into an early first-half lead, the injury sustained by Idrissa Gana Gueye shockingly turned the game on its head for the Toffees rather than Spurs.

Following that 24th-minute flashpoint, Sean Dyche’s side grabbed the ascendancy and dominated from then on. They would strike the woodwork twice and missed a further three big chances, forging opportunity after opportunity despite only enjoying 39% of the ball, via Sofascore.

Although they could not claim the all-important equaliser, such a mesmeric performance on the road has provoked widespread excitement from the fanbase going into today’s game against a weakened Manchester City.

So, it would make perfect sense for Dyche to employ the man who instigated Saturday’s turnaround, with Andre Gomes starting over Gueye from the first whistle to plug the growing gaps in the engine room.

How well did Andre Gomes play vs Spurs?

Having been largely forgotten by the Everton faithful due to last season’s loan spell and this term’s injury struggles, few expected much from the Portuguese midfielder as he steadily worked towards his comeback.

With just six months left on his deal, it was expected that he would merely run down his contract and leave without fuss just like many lucrative failures had done before him.

However, that aforementioned performance has breathed new life into alternative suggestions, with sections of the fanbase even starting to believe that Dyche can work similar miracles with Gomes as he did with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Given how impressive the £22m man was during his 66 minutes on the pitch, the foundation is clearly in place for such a narrative to unfold.

After all, the silky star would show his combative yet classy side on numerous occasions, forging a fine first-half chance for Jack Harrison with a sweeping crossfield ball before seeing his assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin harshly chalked off for a foul on Emerson Royal.

He would complete his masterful comeback with a goal though, as he struck home a sweet driven effort across Guglielmo Vicario to half the deficit.

The statistics reveal that he made two key passes, had two shots and maintained an 81% pass accuracy, and given his ability to feature in a number of roles, he and James Garner could combine to share the offensive workload and ease the absences of Gueye and Doucoure.

Given how starved of the ball Everton are expected to be today, perhaps Gomes’ touch of quality could prove pivotal in adding that incisive nature to deliver a crushing blow to Pep Guardiola.