Beto and Arnaut Danjuma pushing for Everton change as Sean Dyche has Idrissa Gueye dilemma
A look at the changes to the starting 11 that Sean Dyche could make for Everton's Carabao Cup tie against Burnley
Everton manager Sean Dyche has some intriguing selection posers as he faces former club Burnley for the first time in the Carabao Cup at Goodison Park.
The Blues – without a major trophy for over 28 years now – could desperately do with a cup run and having been handed a home tie after wins on the road at Doncaster Rovers and Aston Villa in previous rounds, this tie presents them with a golden opportunity to make it through to the quarter-finals where at least two potential opponents are guaranteed to be lower division sides with Mansfield Town hosting Port Vale and Exeter City entertaining Middlesbrough, both tonight.
Does Dyche go strong then against the Clarets given what’s at stake? He’ll certainly be eager to put on a good show after almost a decade in charge at Turf Moor but there is much more than just personal pride at stake here.
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After playing in both of the previous round, you’d hope that England number one Jordan Pickford retains his place in goal with Dyche avoiding the modern day folly that is the concept of ‘cup keepers’ and giving Joao Virginia an unnecessary run-out given that goalies don’t need to be rested.
In front of him, Dyche described his centre-back pair of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite as both being “immense” in the 1-0 win at West Ham United on Sunday so they may also keep their shirts but if they don’t, it remains to be seen whether Michael Keane comes back into contention after being withdrawn from among the substitutes just over half an hour before kick-off at the London Stadium for family reasons, while Ben Godfrey who was on the bench remains an alternative option both there or even in a full-back berth.
It’s in such areas that Ashley Young comes back into contention after serving a one-match ban so the 38-year-old could be vying with Nathan Patterson, Vitalii Mykolenko and the aforementioned Godfrey for one of the two spots. In central midfield, James Garner, Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure are now the incumbent trio following the elevation of the former but there is a dilemma over Idrissa Gueye, who for so long was a regular, and could be given a run-out.
On the wings, Dyche might decide to hand a start to Arnaut Danjuma at the expense of either Jack Harrison or Dwight McNeil with Lewis Dobbin another potential option while up front Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the man in form but it remains to be seen whether he leads the line again or whether Beto, who like Danjuma will be pushing to start, or even Youssef Chermiti – who replaced Everton’s number nine for the last few minutes at West Ham United – are given a go instead.