Everton confirmed XI v Fulham – Jarrad Branthwaite decision made
Sean Dyche has named his Everton XI as they welcome Fulham to Goodison Park on Tuesday night (19 December) in the EFL Cup.
Pickford keeps his place in between the sticks, making his 21st appearance of the season and his fourth in the EFL Cup.
The England international will be protected by a back three once again, but Ben Godfrey has to settle for a place on the bench after his weekend heroics against Burnley.
James Tarkowski and Michael Keane are joined by Jarrad Branthwaite, having served his one-match suspension for an accumulation of five yellow cards.
Nathan Patterson remains at right wing-back, with Dwight McNeil potentially playing at left wing-back again.
Idrissa Gana Gueye comes back into the starting XI after serving a suspension, joining Amadou Onana and James Garner in midfield.
Jack Harrison looks to be supporting Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is searching for his first goal since scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over West Ham in October.
Everton took to Twitter to share their lineup for the game.
Two teams in fine form
The Toffees will be hoping to record their first home victory over Fulham since September 2018, when Everton took a convincing 3-0 win in the Premier League.
The last time these two sides came up against each other in the EFL Cup, goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent cancelled out Steven Naismith’s opener in a 2-1 win for the Cottagers in 2013.
Both sides come into the tie in fine form. Everton are unbeaten in four fixtures, beating Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Burnley all to nil, helping Dyche’s men to escape the clutches of the relegation zone.
Fulham have three wins in their previous five, beating Wolves, Forest and West Ham, but losing out to Liverpool and Newcastle. Marco Silva’s men are free-scoring, netting 16 goals in these matches.
However, league form goes out the window when it comes to the domestic cups. Anything could happen but both managers will be hoping to progress to the next round of the EFL Cup.
In other Everton news, a Nottingham Forest ace has sent a message to a Toffees star after what he did against Burnley.