Everton need to bounce back from last Saturday’s disastrous opening-day loss to Brighton and Hove Albion, but things get no easier with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on the horizon.
Sean Dyche will have been desperate to get off to a good start at the weekend, and despite a spirited opening 45 minutes, things swiftly fell apart.
Conceding twice inside 60 minutes, getting a man sent off and making far too many mistakes condemned the Toffees to a 3-0 defeat, and left them with plenty to think about going into their next match.
It has quickly snuck up on them as well, as they will travel to north London hoping that they can cause further upset after newly promoted Leicester City snagged a draw off Ange Postecoglou’s side on Monday.
With that in mind, here’s how we think Dyche might line up for the visit to Spurs.
Predicted Everton XI for their Premier League game vs Spurs
It’s expected that the 53-year-old manager will make just two changes from the side that started at Goodison Park last weekend, but shift the formation dramatically.
After all, he goes into Saturday’s match without a recognised right-back option, with Seamus Coleman, James Garner and Nathan Patterson all out injured.
Naturally, Jordan Pickford will start in goal, and he will likely play behind a new-look back three.
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Dyche employed this system when forced to a few times last campaign, achieving great success on the road against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup and at Burnley in the Premier League too.
With that in mind, James Tarkowski and Michael Keane will retain their starting spots, and they will be joined by the first of two new debutants Jake O’Brien.
Vitaliy Mykolenko and Dwight McNeil will make up the wing-back spots, with Mason Holgate still very much untrusted.
This shift to a back three has been forced due to Ashley Young’s recklessness, getting sent off against the Seagulls to condemn his side to defeat.
It seems little has changed since journalist Jack Mendel branded the £40k-a-week veteran a ‘liability’ back in 2019.
Tim Iroegbunam stunned Dyche with his starring performance last weekend, and he will retain his spot next to Idrissa Gana Gueye due to a lack of competition in this role.
A front three will have to be full of energy to try and stop Spurs from playing through them with ease, so Jack Harrison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will also be expected to start again.
However, with no spot for the attacking midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, Iliman Ndiaye could be deployed out wide and allowed to roam.
His unpredictability in possession could prove crucial, to create that one piece of magic needed to snag them a goal on the road.