Sean Dyche makes Jarrad Branthwaite and Amadou Onana fitness calls – confirmed Everton starting XI vs Crystal Palace
Sean Dyche has named his starting line-up for Saturday’s (11 November) Premier League meeting between Everton and Crystal Palace.
The Toffees show one change for the contest at Selhurst Park, as confirmed by the club’s official Twitter account [11 November].
Amadou Onana and Jarrad Branthwaite were both considered doubtful – the former struggling with a calf injury and the latter with an undisclosed issue.
However, both players have recovered to start the match in South London, with Onana returning to the side in place of Idrissa Gueye in the only alteration from the 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.
Abdoulaye Doucoure was another who was not 100% coming into the match due to illness, but he also retains his place in the starting XI.
Branthwaite’s inclusion goes a long way to exposing the shortcomings in terms of the Toffees’ squad depth, as Dyche would no doubt have liked to have rested the young defender had he had any sort of problem.
The issue with that is Michael Keane is not an able enough deputy to slot in alongside skipper James Tarkowski, so Branthwaite is being risked from the beginning.
Everton have enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks, having collected seven points from their past four matches, as well as advancing to the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
The Toffees enter the match sitting 16th in the table and five points above the relegation zone, while opponents Palace are four points better off in 11th place.
In other Everton news, director of football Kevin Thelwell has shared the reasons behind the Toffees turning down the chance to sign a player for a cut-price fee.