Ellis Simms starts, Dominic Calvert-Lewin out injured – Confirmed Everton XI v Liverpool for Merseyside Derby
Sean Dyche has made one change to his starting line up for the Merseyside Derby clash between Everton and Liverpool at Anfield.
The big news is that young academy graduate Ellis Simms makes his first start of the season since returning from loan at Sunderland, replacing the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the lineup.
Dyche sticks with his 4-3-3 formation, with Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana all starting in midfield, while Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi start out wide again.
The game comes too early for James Garner who continues to be absent with a back injury picked up at the end of 2022.
Michael Keane returns to the bench too after being exiled by Frank Lampard, while Neal Maupay and Demarai Gray are attacking options too.
Minimum requirement, maximum effort
It’s something that Dyche made clear was necessary against Arsenal, and the team came out with a victory on that day.
Obviously we won’t have the Goodison crowd behind us for this game, and we will have a raucous Liverpool fan base against us, but that doesn’t change the requirements.
Liverpool haven’t been good this season either, and they have shown that they can be got at. Dyche will know that and the Everton players should take encouragement from it too.
A win would obviously be ideal as it would take the team out of the relegation zone, but a draw would be seen as a hugely positive result in this instance too.
If the team play to their best, even a defeat won’t be looked upon too badly because we know the size of the task facing us right now.
Performance and attitude is key, and the team Dyche has picked suggests he knows that too.