Amadou Onana and Arnaut Danjuma axed after cup win – Confirmed Everton starting XI vs Brighton
Sean Dyche’s confirmed Everton starting XI to face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League has been released by the club.
Amadou Onana and Arnaut Danjuma both drop out of the line-up with Abdoulaye Doucouré and Idrissa Gana Gueye coming in after the 3-0 win over Burnley in midweek.
Big-money midfielder Onana isn’t even on the bench for the Seagulls visit, but the rest of the side that dispatched the manager’s former side in the Carabao Cup is unchanged.
Jordan Pickford is goal and the back four still consists of Ashley Young on the right, Vitalii Mykolenko and the central pairing of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite.
James Garner is alongside Gueye in midfield with Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil on the wings and Doucouré supports Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front.
Momentum
It hasn’t often been possible to say over the past couple of seasons but Everton are currently one of the form teams, having won five of their last seven matches in all competitions.
The Carabao Cup run will mean little if the Toffees are scrabbling for safety again at the end of the season in the Premier League but there is currently reason to believe that won’t be the case this time around.
Although the loss to Luton Town was undoubtedly a sour note within that run the other defeat came against Liverpool in a controversial Merseyside derby where Dyche’s side held their own and could have been different if the officiating hadn’t caused so many issues.
So while the visit of a much-heralded Brighton side under the direction of Roberto De Zerbi is hardly going to be a walk in the park there should be some confidence that Everton can capitalise on the Seagulls’ rough recent form.
Three clean sheets in four is also a positive step, as is the much-needed return to winning ways at home, so for once there are various factors pointing to another positive result here.
A set back doesn’t need to spell disaster here but given the run this side has been on the chance to maintain some valuable momentum is very inviting.
In other Everton news, Dyche has a “major potential headache” coming up on the horizon with one of his players looking “lost”.