Everton: Amadou Onana simply must start v Crystal Palace as Sean Dyche fitness update emerges
Sean Dyche must start Amadou Onana for Everton against Crystal Palace when the two sides go head-to-head on Monday (19 February).
The Belgian international hasn’t started for the Toffees since the FA Cup defeat against Luton Town on 27 January as he continues his return from injury.
The 22-year-old midfielder came off the bench as a late substitute in the 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on 10 February in his first bit of action so far this month.
There is a good chance he could return to the starting lineup against the Eagles at Goodison Park after Dyche provided an update on his fitness heading into the game.
“Amadou Onana and Seamus Coleman are back in the thinking after coming through a couple more training sessions,” said Dyche in his pre-match press conference on Saturday (17 February).
The Toffees have missed having his presence in the side over the past few weeks after they failed to win any of their games in his absence.
There have been some concerns raised about their form recently after they haven’t won a single Premier League game since the 2-0 victory over Burnley on 16 December.
That run of disappointing results has also coincided with the injury suffered by Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has featured just once since that win over the Clarets.
But the Mali international is also now back in training and could join Onana in the starting lineup against Palace, potentially providing the Blues with a massive boost heading into the game.
The Belgian is much more likely to get the nod, though, and the most likely candidate to drop out of the side for him is Ashley Young following his less-than-impressive performance against Man City.
Before being replaced by Onana at the Etihad Stadium, the 38-year-old recorded just a 55 per cent pass accuracy as he touched the ball just 22 times throughout the afternoon [SofaScore].
The versatile defender, who started the game on the right wing against the Citizens, also gave the ball away 10 times as he won just one of his five duels.
The return of Onana would likely see a change in formation as he would provide more stability in the middle of the park, where he would likely be joined by Idrissa Gueye and James Garner.
Dyche knows that his star midfielder could be crucial in helping them pick up what would be a huge victory in their fight against relegation at Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, Alan Stubbs has raged at what has happened to the Toffees as he shared an appeal verdict.
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