Neal Maupay slated as Jeff Stelling and Tim Sherwood react to Everton team news vs Leeds United live on Sky Sports
Jeff Stelling and Tim Sherwood have questioned Sean Dyche’s Everton line up for Leeds United, with Neal Maupay under particular scrutiny.
The Toffees boss has made one change to the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Monday (13 February), replacing Ellis Simms with the French forward and continuing with just one up front.
Given the meeting with manager-less Leeds is at Goodison Park and both sides are at the wrong end of the table, the two Sky Sports men are surprised Everton haven’t gone with a more attacking set up, and Maupay’s poor scoring record has been highlighted as a concern.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (18 February, 2.04pm) Stelling asked: “Are you surprised Tim? Home game against fellow strugglers, are you surprised Sean Dyche has gone with one up front again?”
Sherwood responded: “Yeah, from the start yeah. Obviously he’s got some options to bring on, Simms if need be. I think they’ll go very direct, probably [Abdoulaye] Doucouré will go up, and [they’ll] play direct into him and Maupay will be around.
“But Maupay needs to produce. He’s hasn’t done it he’s been at the club. He needs to turn up and the Everton fans want him to turn up today.
“Yeah, I’d have been a little bit more aggressive from the start.”
Stelling added: “Yeah, Neal Maupay’s not scored in his last 15 appearances.”
Deficiency
It is little surprise to anyone of a Blues persuasion that it would be striker that is the position in question here, since fans have seen their attacking options repeatedly weakened over the past year.
Richarlison was sold for big money to Tottenham in the summer and the comparatively budget option of Maupay was brought in from Brighton but hasn’t so far been a real success.
He looked a shadow of the nuisance he so often was with the Seagulls as Frank Lampard’s reign went on, but his substitute appearance in Dyche’s first game against Arsenal suggested he might have remembered how to play that role.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin once again suffering from fitness issues he has been ruled out since that win, and the manager surprisingly turned to youngster Simms for the derby.
After missing out on numerous attacking options during the January window, while selling Anthony Gordon for good measure, Everton are now left to choose between the unproven 22-year-old and the misfiring Maupay.
One of them is going to need to step up over the remainder of the season or it is going to be slog of a battle against the drop if Calvert-Lewin so often can’t play.