David Moyes ‘must axe Everton star’ at HT after what’s happened v Forest
Everton face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, and David Moyes may need to replace Abdoulaye Doucoure at half-time.
David Moyes’ team have travelled to the City Ground on 12 April, with the Scottish manager making three changes to his starting lineup, starting with Armando Broja up front.
It’s been a rather cagy affair away from home for the Toffees as some strong challenges went in early on from both teams, with the score 0-0 going into the break.
Doucoure was on the receiving end of a booking from the referee as he became the first player to be handed a yellow card in the fixture.
Doucoure should be replaced by Everton at half-time v Forest
Moyes should substitute Doucoure at the break, as he risks picking up a red card.
Since being appointed manager, the Scotsman has relied on the 32-year-old Senegal international as the number 10, but he now needs to make a tough call and make a change at half-time.
| Competition (2024/25) | Apperances | Goals | Assists | Second yellow cards |
| Premier League | 28 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
While the Toffees are in a comfortable position in the Premier League table, they’ll want to get a positive result against Forest and will have a tough time doing so if they go down to 10 players.
With the likes of Dwight McNeil, Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam on the bench, Moyes isn’t short of options and should bring on one of these players in the middle of the park.
Moyes not under pressure against Nottingham Forest
Moyes has done brilliantly in the Premier League since replacing Sean Dyche at the Toffees.
The Scotsman went on a nine-game unbeaten run before losing the Merseyside derby to Liverpool at Anfield.
With the Blues having bounced back against Arsenal at Goodison Park with a 1-1 draw, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get a result against Forest.
Everton aren’t under any pressure as things stand, and they have a comfortable lead over 18th-place Ipswich Town.
As nerves around the Merseyside outfit have died down, there seems to be no jeopardy for them going into the final few matches of the season.
Moyes will still want his players to step up in the coming weeks as the Blues look to prepare for the upcoming campaign at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Some players are arguably playing for their future and need to ensure they can convince the Scottish manager of being able to contribute going forward.
It’d be easy for the Toffees to down tools with nothing but pride to play for, but they can’t take any chances with tough fixtures against the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea coming up.