Michael Keane and Vitalii Mykolenko axed – Predicted Everton XI v Luton Town
Sean Dyche could axe two senior defenders from his Everton starting lineup when they face off with Luton Town at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Toffees made it consecutive wins thanks to a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in midweek to progress to the Carabao Cup fourth round, and now want to follow up in the league after their 3-1 win over Brentford last week.
But after going with a back-five in the cup, Dyche may look to go on the attack as the favourites in this game with Luton and that means defenders are likely to drop out.
Jordan Pickford will continue to get the nod in goal as the undisputed number one goalkeeper at the club, with a clean sheet undoubtedly expected by many.
Nathan Patterson has been excellent at right-back whenever selected this season and should get the nod this week, with Vitalii Mykolenko likely to miss out after hobbling off against Aston Villa. Ashley Young should come in on the left to replace the Ukrainian.
James Tarkwoski and Jarrad Branthwaite have been the first-choice pairing in the middle and that should continue once more here, with Michael Keane likely to step out of the team to allow for an extra midfielder.
Amadou Onana was excellent in a deeper role and with the Toffees likely to have more of the ball here, there is less need for a destroyer like Idrissa Gueye in the side.
Onana and James Garner, fresh from his goal against Villa, could form a solid midfield partnership with energy, on the ball ability, defensive intelligence and a threat in the opposition box too which Dyche should look to exploit.
Ahead of them with a more free role is likely to be Abdoulaye Doucoure, who remains one of the most important players in the squad since Dyche became the boss.
Jack Harrison had a terrific debut against Villa and really excelled in an advanced role, but two games in a week may be too much for him right now and he may have to settle for a place on the bench.
That should allow for Arnaut Danjuma to keep his place on the left wing, with Dwight McNeil coming back into the side on the right wing to provide real width and a goalscoring threat.
With two goals in two games since returning from injury, it’s impossible for Dyche to leave Dominic Calvert-Lewin out of the Everton side at this point and he should come in for Portuguese ace Beto who will drop to the bench.
In other Everton news, confirmed team news ahead of Luton Town clash.