Lampard to make 2 changes, Neal Maupay to make debut – Everton predicted XI v Leeds United
Everton are still chasing their first Premier League win of the season and will hope to claim it when they take on Leeds at Elland Road on Tuesday night.
The Toffees earned a draw on the road against Brentford on Saturday afternoon, with Anthony Gordon scoring his first goal of the season despite all the noise around his future.
But Lampard must find a way to turn the draws into wins to secure some more much needed points and that could mean changes to his starting lineup for the game.
One man who won’t come out of the starting lineup is goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who has been faultless so far in this campaign despite the poor results for the team.
Defensively the team suffered yet another injury problem when Mason Holgate was forced off at the weekend, so the boss has a decision to make on who replaces him and slots in alongside James Tarkowski and Conor Coady.
Michael Keane came on as a substitute in that game, but this could be a good moment to reintroduce club captain Seamus Coleman as the third centre-back which was the role he took up at the back end of last season.
That would allow for Lampard to continue with his current wing-backs in Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko who continue to impress with their energy and qualities on the ball.
Amadou Onana has made himself a starter already despite limited appearances in the heart of the midfield, alongside the brilliant Alex Iwobi who has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet in this midfield role.
In attack, Anthony Gordon will continue to start until the moment he isn’t an Everton player anymore and it’s unlikely that the Toffees will want to sanction a deal before the game without being able to bring a replacement in.
Dwight McNeil has done relatively well so far since joining but his lack of output in front of goal or around the opposition goal has continued and is something that must be addressed.
That should see Demarai Gray continue in his favoured left wing role, with his two goals currently leading the scoring charts for the club this season.
In the striker position Dominic Calvert-Lewin is still unavailable and Lampard is clearly not a fan of Salomon Rondon’s style, so new £15m signing Neal Maupay should come into the side for his Everton debut and lead the line.
Predicted Everton XI vs Leeds: Pickford; Coleman, Coady, Tarkowski; Patterson, Onana, Iwobi, Mykolenko; Gordon, Maupay, Gray