Sean Dyche gets Ben Godfrey decision horribly wrong as Everton XI confirmed v Man City
Sean Dyche has got his decision to name Ben Godfrey in the Everton starting lineup against Manchester City horribly wrong as the sides go head-to-head on Saturday (10 February).
The versatile defender has started the past two games at right-back, but he was forced off with a calf injury in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham on 3 February.
Although the 26-year-old was believed to be a doubt heading into the clash against the Citizens, the Toffees boss has decided he’s fit enough to start at the Etihad Stadium.
The Blues confirmed via their official Twitter page that Jordan Pickford will start in goal behind Godfrey, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
James Garner and Idrissa Gueye make up the midfield, with Ashley Young and Dwight McNeil playing out wide and Jack Harrison looking to support lone striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a central role.
That means it’s an unchanged lineup from the one that salvaged a late point against Spurs courtesy of an injury-time goal from Branthwaite.
Godfrey was replaced on 75 minutes against the North London club by captain Seamus Coleman, who would have been hoping to receive a recall against the Premier League champions.
But it is Godfrey who will be tasked with dealing with Man City’s excellent attacking options, which could be a risk given the calf injury he picked up.
He also didn’t have the best game against Tottenham, having picked up a yellow card and made several poor passes as he gave away the ball several times.
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 a well below-par 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.
Dyche simply can’t afford for him to be giving the ball away on such a regular basis against the Citizens, which suggests it may have been a mistake to pick him.
But time will tell as he gets another opportunity to impress as the Blues look to pick up a positive result in what will undoubtedly be a tough game at the Etihad.
In other Everton news, Ally McCoist has shared a new Toffees relegation prediction live on talkSPORT.
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