James Tarkowski now main weapon for Everton v Leeds United after Dominic Calvert-Lewin blow
Everton will face Leeds United in their next Premier League game on Saturday (18 February) at Goodison Park and Sean Dyche will have to find a way to win.
The Toffees are heading into this game on the back of a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool, and they need to win their next two home games, against Leeds and Aston Villa as they are battling for Premier League survival.
Ahead of the match, Dyche confirmed that striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will not take part as he is still out injured.
Dyche has Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms as two other options, but it has to be said that without Calvert-Lewin, they possess very little attacking threat.
In such a scenario, chances from set pieces remain their best option to score. It’s a fact that the Toffees struggle to score goals, but this is a potential relegation six-pointer, and they have to find a way to score.
That is why James Tarkowski has become the main weapon for Dyche now.
The former Burnley defender scored the only goal for the Toffees in their 1-0 win against Arsenal, and nearly scored against Liverpool, but unfortunately, the Reds managed to convert it into a sharp counter-attack and found the net through Mohamed Salah.
Leeds are vulnerable at set-pieces. They have conceded loads of goals from corners and free-kicks, and it feels like they face problems in marking players who are terrific at headers.
Tarkowski can take full advantage of this and therefore he remains Leeds’ biggest threat for this game. The experienced defender makes smart movements in the penalty box, and always poses threat with his headers.
The 30-year-old has been superb joining the club in the summer on a free transfer. Liverpool Echo journalist hailed him as “excellent” after his performance against the Gunners [4 February], while Danny Murphy said he is the best English centre-half playing regularly [23 October, Daily Mail].
Tarkowski could be a match-winner against the Whites on Saturday.