Everton: Sean Dyche could start Nathan Patterson v Man City at the Etihad over Seamus Coleman
Sean Dyche should consider playing Nathan Patterson for the Everton game against Manchester City on Saturday (10 February).
Ben Godfrey has started the past two games at right-back, but the 26-year-old is a doubt for the clash at the Etihad Stadium after being forced off with a calf injury in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham on 3 February.
He was replaced on 75 minutes by captain Seamus Coleman, who was extremely wasteful in possession as the Toffees went in pursuit of a late equaliser, which arrived in injury time through a Jarrad Branthwaite goal at Goodison Park.
Ben Godfrey is a doubt for Everton against Manchester City
That means the Blues boss could be tempted to hand Patterson an opportunity to impress if Godfrey is unavailable, with his mobility potentially being a key asset against the Citizens.
Injury Expert Ben Dinnery shared on his Premier Injuries website on Thursday (8 February) that Godfrey is currently being assessed, with his fitness status currently at 75 per cent.
Even if the versatile defender is given the green light to face the Premier League champions, Dyche may decide to play one of his other options after he was slightly unconvincing against Spurs.
Despite making three tackles and two interceptions, the Englishman picked up a yellow card as he was handed a 6.8 rating by Sofascore – the lowest of any of the Everton players.
He won just five out of his 10 duels and recorded an extremely poor pass accuracy of just 52 per cent as he lost possession 18 times and only found a teammate with two of his seven long balls and crosses.
The likely replacement for him is Coleman, but he was actually worse than Godfrey on the ball despite only playing 15 minutes, having recorded a 50 per cent pass accuracy and given the ball away eight times with his 14 touches.
The Republic of Ireland international also won just one of his three duels as he continues to get up to speed following the knee injury that kept him out of action for the first few months of the campaign.
Facing Man City away is about as difficult as it gets, so the Toffees are going to have to be brave on the ball and the defenders are going to have to be mobile to cut out any balls played in behind them.
Sean Dyche has a decision to make at Everton
That is why Patterson may be the best option as his pass completion rate is 74 per cent compared to Coleman’s 60 per cent across the campaign.
The Scotland international also has an 86 per cent success rate in his own half, suggesting that he’s unlikely to give the ball away much and put his team under pressure.
The Blues are going to have to make the most of their chances when they come along and the 22-year-old does have the ability to create opportunities for his teammates, having registered two assists after creating three big chances.
The right-back also averages 0.4 key passes per game, while the 35-year-old Coleman has failed to create any big chances and hasn’t made any key passes this season, albeit from far fewer matches.
It could be a risk Dyche isn’t willing to take to play Patterson, but the fact of the matter is, he is the future for the Toffees at right-back and needs to be playing regularly to continue his development.
Although the Blues need to get points on the board, this is a game where no one really expects them to pick up a result.
It could be a great opportunity to see what the Scotsman is really made of and whether or not he can play a bigger role over the next few months.
In other Everton news, Ally McCoist has shared a new Toffees relegation prediction live on talkSPORT.
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