Carabao Cup Preview
Everton and Burnley meet at Goodison Park this evening, with a place in the League Cup Quarter-Finals up for grabs.
It’s the first time the two clubs will have played each other since that dramatic relegation “six-pointer” at Turf Moor in April last year, a result that seemed to strengthen the Clarets’ case for survival in 2021-22 and put a nail in the Toffees’ proverbial top-flight coffin.
However, it was, of course, Everton who stayed up while Burnley, minus Sean Dyche whom they sacked not long after the afore-mentioned win, went down, only to reinvent themselves under Vincent Kompany and earn promotion back to the Premier League in convincing fashion.
Despite romping to the Championship title, the Lancashire club have found it tough going back in the top division and are in 19th place having beaten only fellow newcomers Luton Town.
Given the gravity of their plight even at this early stage, the Carabao Cup might not be high on Burnley’s list of priorities, particularly as they have what they might regard as a winnable game against Crystal Palace at home on Saturday.
It’s conceivable, therefore, that Kompany fields a weakened side at Goodison Park… not that that should be taken as any reason for complacency; after all, the Blues were knocked out of last season’s competition by a much-changed Bournemouth outfit.
The questions on Evertonian minds coming into this one are: should Dyche make many, if any, changes to the team that beat West Ham on Sunday; and, if so, who should make way and for whom.
It’s possible that Dyche could rest players like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison and Amadou Onana while giving minutes to Beto, Arnaut Danjuma and Idrissa Gueye.
He might also bench James Tarkowski in favour of Ben Godfrey whose only start thus far was in the second round at Doncaster, or Michael Keane.
There is an argument to be made, however, that, regardless of the carrot of a place in the last eight of a major tournament, momentum is important and that any changes should therefore be minimal ahead of the visit of Brighton at the weekend.
Kick-off: 7:45pm, Wednesday 1 November, 2023
Last Time: This is the first meeting between the two clubs in the League Cup
Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Patterson, Keane, Branthwaite, Young, Gueye, Garner, Harrison, Danjuma, Doucouré, Beto