Frank Lampard could drop Everton defender Seamus Coleman v Fulham
Everton will travel to Craven Cottage on Saturday (29 October) to face Fulham, and Frank Lampard has a big decision to make.
Nathan Patterson has returned from injury and Lampard has confirmed that the young right-back will be in the squad for that game.
It means the Toffees boss will need to make a tough decision about whether to start with Patterson or stick with Coleman who was brilliant in recent games.
Coleman returned to the starting line-up after Patterson picked up an injury while playing for Scotland.
The club skipper was superb in the absence of Patterson and produced his best performance of the season against Crystal Palace, where he kept Wilfried Zaha quiet throughout.
Lampard hailed him as “outstanding” for his performance against Palace.
But, the Toffees boss should start with Patterson instead. The 21-year-old has been top-class this season before he picked up an injury.
With an average of 4 tackles per game, and 1.3 interceptions, Patterson has been one of the first names on the teamsheet. Against Fulham who defeated Leeds in the last game, Lampard will require more mobile full-backs, and Patterson should get the nod.
Coleman has been the club’s first-choice at right-back all these years, but Patterson’s presence adds more dynamism in the middle of the park.
His concentration is fantastic, and rarely makes any mistakes at the back. He will be inching to get going again, and Lampard must pick him in the starting line-up.