Sean Dyche’s Everton will be looking to make amends for last weekend’s 3-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion as they travel to face Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.
His side will be without numerous key first-team members for the trip to the capital, with Ashley Young suspended after his red card last time out, with regular centre-backs Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski both nursing injuries.
It will likely be a makeshift backline, a scary thought when coming up against the likes of Heung-min Son, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski, as Ange Postecoglou's side look to claim all three points in their first league game of the season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Alongside the injuries, Dyche has numerous dilemmas across the pitch, as he tries to secure the Toffees’ first win of the new Premier League campaign.
He could look to drop one player who failed to impress during the season opener, despite producing some impressive numbers during the 2023/24 season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stats against Brighton
Despite finishing the season prior as the club’s joint-top scorer, midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure produced a performance to forget on the opening day of the new season last weekend.
The 31-year-old started in a similar role to last season, in a more advanced berth just behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but he was unable to make a positive impact on the game or the result.
In his 63 minutes on the pitch, the Malian only managed 23 touches - just one touch nearly every three minutes - giving possession away eight times, as he failed to make the most of his time on the ball.
Doucoure was also caught offside four times, with all of his offences coming within the first 45 minutes, putting an end to any momentum the Toffees had within the final third.
As a result, he could be replaced by one Everton talent who is more than deserving of a start after his cameo off the bench during the defeat.
The man to replace Doucoure against Spurs
After joining the Toffees in a £15m deal from Marseille during the off-season, attacker Iliman Ndiaye was restricted to a place on the bench during last weekend’s loss to the Seagulls.
However, he was brought on for Doucoure with just 27 minutes remaining, making more of an impact on the encounter than the former Watford ace despite featuring for 36 minutes fewer.
The "outrageous" talent, as previously described by ex-teammate Chris Basham, only had 13 fewer touches, but managed to achieve a higher success rate of duels won - putting himself about in the hope of changing the game for Dyche’s side.
Despite being brought on for his attacking abilities, Ndiaye managed to win three tackles - an average of one every nine minutes - as he worked tirelessly to make an immediate impression on the fanbase.
In what was a disappointing day for the entire side, he was unable to provide that spark that could change the game for the Toffees, but did demonstrate moments of quality which could earn him a start in North London this afternoon.
Out of the new additions this summer, the 24-year-old was arguably the most exciting after his previous stint in England for Sheffield United, where registered 36 goals and assists in just 88 games in total.
However, he’s yet to be handed that opportunity from the start to showcase what he’s capable of, with Dyche needing to hand him a first start over Doucoure if his side are to have the best opportunity of claiming anything from the meeting.