View: Calvert-Lewin to return amid six changes – Everton predicted XI v Sheffield Wednesday
Everton will be hoping to show their Premier League class when they host Sheffield Wednesday in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash.
The Goodison Park fixture will be their first since they dispatched Wolves 2-1 at Molineux on January 12 after their Premier League game with Aston Villa was called off amid a covid-19 outbreak at the Midlands club.
As such the Blues will have been afforded a 12-day break by the time they entertain Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on Merseyside and should have no excuses for not dumping The Owls out of the cup.
Cup fixtures are always a difficult one to suss but at Goodison News we have taken the brave decision to name the team we think Carlo Ancelotti will send out on Sunday.
The enforced break has given a number of Everton players the chance to recover from injuries and allowed other stars to take a breather so Ancelotti should be naming a strong line-up as he suggested in his press conference [Liverpool Echo].
Star striker Calvert-Lewin has been the main beneficiary of this with a hamstring complaint keeping him out of Everton’s last two games and looks set to start on Sunday after Ancelotti said [via Liverpool Echo]: “I think Dominic can start, he trained well and is in a good physical condition.”
Robin Olsen was in sticks against Rotherham United in the last round and should keep his place after producing some assured displays this season.
In front of him expect Captain Seamus Coleman to slot in for Mason Holgate at right back with Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane in the centre, meaning Yerry Mina will make way from the Wolves match. Lucas Digne should be fresh and able to continue his comeback from his recent injury lay-off and make his third successive start.
Allan has been out since an injury sustained in Everton’s win on December 16 and is expected to be back soon but Sunday’s clash will come too soon for the Brazilian so Andre Gomes should be given another chance to impress with Tom Davies saved for Leicester, though he might be required from the bench.
Abdoulaye Doucoure is suspended for the next Premier League game against Leicester on Wednesday so it makes sense for him to start on Sunday as he will be sitting out in midweek, while James Rodriguez could start in a more central position against a Wednesday side that will be set out to stifle the Blues.
We think 19-year-old Anthony Gordon deserves another chance to show off his prodigious talents. The highly-rated youngster started brightly against Rotherham but faded out of the game and was replaced by Bernard but in Calvert-Lewin he will have a brilliant foil to bounce balls off.
Richarlison did not start the last game against Wolves so he will also be raring to go from the start in a strong side.
This all means Jordan Pickford, Holgate, Mina, Davies, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Alex Iwobi will drop out from the Wolves match in six changes, but it will have a familiar feeling to the Rotherham match with the whole back five keeping their places and there will be a strong bench for Ancelotti to call on.
Cenk Tosun scored the opener last time out in the FA Cup but he will have to make do with a place on the bench this time.
In other Everton news, Michael Owen predicts tough battle for Blues in FA Cup.