Everton line-ups for Man City as Andre Gomes, Arnaut Danjuma and Beto decisions made
Everton line-ups and team selections for Premier League clash at home to Manchester City
Everton play their final game of 2023 at Goodison Park tonight when they entertain newly crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions Manchester City.
While City were adding a fifth major trophy of the calendar year to their collection in Saudi Arabia, Everton were suffering double disappointment. After being cruelly knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by Fulham, the Blues then suffered a harsh Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The 2-1 loss ended Sean Dyche's side's four-match league winning run. They will therefore be keen to bounce back against defending champions City, who have won just one of their last six league matches.
So how should Blues boss Dyche line-up this evening for the visit of Pep Guardiola's all-conquering team? Our writers have had their say...
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Joe Thomas - Andre Gomes needs to be handled carefully
Andre Gomes stunned everyone with the impact he had against Spurs. Sean Dyche had not seen the 30-year-old play a minute of competitive football at Everton and was not planning on exposing him so early in that game but was forced to consider it when Idrissa Gueye went down. The first impression of Gueye’s injury was that it was a concerning one and it feels relatively safe to approach this match on the basis he is unavailable.
With Abdoulaye Doucoure also injured that leaves a hole in Dyche’s three-man midfield. I fill that with Jack Harrison. Gomes was brilliant but needs to be handled carefully if he is to stay clear of another setback and I liked Harrison behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Newcastle United. I’d put Arnaut Danjuma on the right, where I would keep Nathan Patterson even if Ashley Young or Seamus Coleman are in the mix. That neither made the bench on Saturday suggests to me that Man City may be too early to bring them into the first XI.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Danjuma, Garner, Harrison, Onana, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
Chris Beesley - Andre Gomes would certainly earn his spot on merit
It was a game against Tottenham Hotspur that caused Andre Gomes’ Everton career to hit the buffers back in 2019 and while it would still seem fanciful at this stage to suggest the 30-year-old has a future at the club beyond this season, the December 23 encounter against the north London outfit may have provided him with the platform for a surprise comeback.A player who cannot count tackling and running among his prize assets is always going to be an unlikely choice in the eyes of many for a place in a Sean Dyche midfield. But with the Blues boss declaring that he thought the Manchester City game was “a bit close” for top scorer Abdoulaye Doucoure to return and “it doesn’t look that promising” for Idrissa Gueye, the man who Gomes replaced in the capital, the Portuguese international suddenly looks primed for his first Everton start in 19 months since he was hauled off at half-time by Frank Lampard when the team trailed 2-0 against Crystal Palace on May 19 last year.
Given that Gomes was the Blues’ best performer against Ange Postecoglou’s side, setting up Dominic Calvert-Lewin for his disallowed goal – only for a VAR check to deem his challenge on Emerson Royal to be too robust – and then netting himself, he would certainly earn his spot on merit, and his presence would enable Dyche to maintain the same formation. You do wonder whether he might be tempted to revert to the 5-4-1 used at Burnley and recall Michael Keane as a third centre-back but let’s be positive.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Onana, Gomes, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
Connor O’Neill - Time to make changes
Sean Dyche has no option but to freshen things up for this game, although things will remain as they are at the back. That means Jordan Pickford, Nathan Patterson, Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Vitalii Mykolenko should all keep their places from the side that was beaten by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.
However, in midfield, Andre Gomes should come in for the injured Idrissa Gueye, with Amadou Onana and James Garner keeping their places. Out wide, Dwight McNeil should start on one flank, with Arnaut Danjuma replacing Jack Harrison on the other.
Up top, Beto should come in for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who looked a little tired against Ange Postecoglou’s side. The England international could be a real help off the bench against City.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Danjuma, Garner, Gomes, Onana, McNeil; Beto.