Match Preview
Dwight McNeil could miss this weekend’s match against Southampton having not trained all week after sustaining an injury that forced him off against Fulham last Saturday.
Sean Dyche says that the winger “has a chance” of being involved as the club’s medical staff work with him ahead of the trip south to St Mary’s but the manager was merely “hopeful” rather than confident he could be involved.
McNeil went down needing treatment on his knee late in the 1-1 draw with the Cottagers and limped off to be replaced by defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
As the team’s leading provider of assists and the scorer of four goals in all competitions so far this season, he will be a significant miss for Everton and it will force Dyche into reshuffling his attacking quartet.
There is an opportunity to switch Jack Harrison to the left flank and give a rare start to Jesper Lindstrom on the right, with Iliman Ndiaye moving into the No 10 slot but, more likely, the manager will opt to push Abdoulaye Doucouré forward to once again play off the striker.
That would create a vacancy in central midfield that would have to be filled by Orel Mangala following the news that James Garner is facing a further month on the sidelines as he recovers from a stress fracture in his back.
Mangala came on as a late substitute against Fulham and had an assured cameo alongside the indefatigable Idrissa Gueye and the duo could partner each from the first whistle for the first time since the former arrived on loan from Lyon.
Up front, Beto’s goalscoring heroics last weekend will at least give Dyche pause for thought over whom to deploy up front but the smart money would be on Dominic Calvert-Lewin keeping his place, with the Portuguese once again a viable choice off the bench if the Toffees need to change things up in attack.
At the back, most eyes will once again be on whom out of Branthwaite and Michael Keane is selected alongside James Tarkowski. Keane, a goalscorer himself against Ipswich a fortnight ago and a solid performer in defence over the past few games, was chosen ahead of Branthwaite against Fulham but the young defender could get the nod now that he can be deemed to be fully fit.
The Blues are looking to extend their recent unbeaten run to six matches as they take on the Premier League’s bottom club, with Southampton yet to win a game on their return to the top flight.
Manager Russell Martin continues to be entrusted at the helm and his side’s performance against the Champions Manchester City last weekend, where they avoided a hammering and were narrowly beaten 1-0 by an early Erling Haaland goal, will have provided plenty of encouragement ahead of what Saints feel is a must-win game against Everton.
Flynn Downes is rated as 50/50 to be available for the south coast side due to illness and Martin suggested that a sickness bug might deprive him of a couple of others while goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, forward Ross Stewart and midfielder William Smallbone are all ruled out.
While Everton’s performance against Fulham was flat and uninspiring, it nevertheless yield another point and Dyche will be looking for another professional away performance like that at Portman Road and another three points to keep his team’s momentum going.
As they demonstrated in the EFL Cup at Goodison Park earlier in the season, Saints like to play out from the back and keep possession but they often play their way into trouble in the process. That will hopefully present the Blues with opportunities in transition and when the ball is turned over by the opposition in their own half.
Kick-off: 3 pm, Saturday 2 November 2024
Referee: Andy Madley
VAR: Matt Donohue
Last Time: Southampton 1 – 2 Everton
Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Mangala, Harrison, Ndiaye, Doucouré, Calvert-Lewin