View: Ancelotti to shuffle pack in Doucoure absence – Everton predicted XI v Burnley
Everton are set to face Burnley at Goodison Park this weekend as they look to get back to winning ways following defeat to Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues ended a three-game Premier League winning streak for the Toffees, who had hoped to win at Stamford Bridge and leapfrog Chelsea into fourth place.
Now sixth in the table, Everton will be desperate to set things right against a Burnley side who are winless in five, though having recently drawn with Arsenal and Leicester they won’t be pushovers.
At Goodison News, we have named our predicted Everton XI to take on Burnley on Saturday…
Jordan Pickford continued his recent vein of form against Chelsea on Monday, and even though he gave away a penalty he made a number of top class saves.
The England international has proven pivotal to Everton after the past few weeks and he keeps his space against Burnley, regardless of whether Robin Olsen is fit or not.
Yerry Mina and Seamus Coleman were spotted back in training on Wednesday but in fear of rushing them back too early Carlo Ancelotti will keep the same backline. Mason Holgate and Lucas Digne will man the flanks while Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey will occupy the central positions.
With Abdoulaye Doucoure set for a stay on the sidelines, Ancelotti will need to reshuffle his midfield pack to find the best solution in his absence.
Allan will keep his place following his return, although Tom Davies could replace him in the deeper role, leaving the Brazilian with more freedom during transition.
Gylfi Sigurdsson was left out of training on Wednesday for an undisclosed reason so we believe Andre Gomes will get the nod, but in reality it could be either of the duo who feature.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have little competition so will undoubtedly start up front for Ancelotti’s side, while Bernard could occupy the tip of the diamond behind the duo.
Everton have been less than impressive at Goodison Park since the New Year, losing to West Ham, Newcastle and Fulham at home, and they’ll need to remedy that issue if they are to reach Europe this season.
Burnley aren’t an easy team to beat but they don’t always prove to be stern opposition when in attack, the the Blues need to soak up their pressure when it comes and hit them when the opportunity arises.
Ancelotti will still remain wary of how detrimental a loss or even a draw could be at this stage of the season with European qualification hanging in the balance, and so a routine result will be demanded from this group of players.
In other Everton news, journalist David Prentice has bemoaned ‘frustrating’ James Rodriguez.