Paul Brown shares Everton ‘blow’ ahead of clash v Burnley after what happened against Chelsea
It is a “blow” that Jarrad Branthwaite and Idrissa Gana Gueye will miss the upcoming Premier League clash between Everton and Burnley.
That is according to journalist Paul Brown, with both players picking up their fifth yellow cards of the campaign against Chelsea on Sunday (10 December).
The Toffees won the clash at Goodison Park 2-0, with a trip to Burnley at Turf Moor up next on Saturday (16 December).
“It is a blow,” Brown told GIVEMESPORT (11 December). “Everton have shown they can cope without Gueye, when it comes to it, I think Branthwaite is more important to the team.
“If he’s fit, you’d expect Michael Keane to come in, which might not be great news for his detractors at Everton. I still don’t think he’s a terrible defender, and Sean Dyche clearly still believes in him, so I think he would be the natural replacement.
“I don’t think Keane and Tarkowski are a bad partnership when they’re on form and playing with confidence, so I don’t have too many worries about that from Everton’s point of view. The back four can hold up if it stays focused enough.”
Huge blow
It is, of course, a massive low for Dyche, who has been relying on the same core of players in recent times, and that core have been doing very well.
After losing 3-0 at home to Manchester United, the Toffees have defeated Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Chelsea. Impressively, the Merseyside club scored six times in those three matches, and did not concede a single goal.
But both Branthwaite and Gueye were key, meaning Dyche has a big decision to make when it comes to replacing the crucial duo.
The suspensions will hugely frustrate the man in the dugout, although he cannot have too many complaints with his players given their efforts lately.
Having dropped to 19th place in the Premier League table after their points deduction, Everton now occupy 17th place, and are four points clear of the relegation zone, and five points ahead of their next opponents Burnley.
In other Everton news, Alan Shearer has gushed over one Toffees ace after what happened against Chelsea at Goodison Park.