Joe Thomas - Ndiaye in amid defensive crisis
For a squad that isn’t the biggest it feels like there are quite a few decisions to make today. The issues start at the back and in particular on the right of defence, with Seamus Coleman, Nathan Patterson, James Garner and Ashley Young all options expected to be unavailable. Sean Dyche has played Mason Holgate at right back, though it ended badly on one of the most recent of those occasions in spring 2023 when he was sent off at Crystal Palace having been given a torrid time by Jordan Ayew.
Holgate would be the most likely option at Spurs but the potential absence of James Tarkowski adds an additional dimension to this situation. If Tarkowski is fit then I would start him alongside Michael Keane and have Holgate at right back. I am going to proceed with what I would do if Tarkowski is not fit, because I am glutton for punishment. In this case I would play three centre backs. With Jarrad Branthwaite injured they would be Holgate, Keane and Jake O’Brien. I am not completely against Vitalii Mykolenko tucking in as a centre back but given it is Holgate’s best position and O’Brien would be making his Premier League debut in this scenario, and that I would be playing Jack Harrison out of position at right wing back, I would want to avoid another square peg in a round hole.
There will be supporters asking why not Roman Dixon at right wing back in this scenario? I understand the question. He is talented and having him at wing back would suit his attacking style and provide protection behind him. But we must not forget he is a 19-year-old with no senior experience and a patched up side around him who we would, in this case, be asking to play against one of the best attacking left forwards in world football in Heung-Min Son. Harrison would also find this difficult and he is a player with years of experience.
There is no good solution here. But this is partly about protecting Dixon in order to give him a chance to succeed. He should travel with the squad having not been involved with the U21s at Chelsea last night. He will probably be on the bench. Everton need a long term solution on the right of defence and if Dixon is to be fast tracked then I would prefer to start or bring him on against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and go from there.
In the middle I would play Idrissa Gueye, Tim Iroegbunam and Abdoulaye Doucoure as a protective shield to the defence. I would give Iroebugnam, not Doucoure, the licence to push forward when possible - he looked good carrying the ball against Brighton and Hove Albion and was a bright spark amid the opening day gloom. This is all building up to me starting Iliman Ndiaye with Dominic Calvert-Lewin. A clever player, an attacking threat, someone to give Spurs something to think about and to stop Calvert-Lewin from becoming isolated. I think he should have started last week (and wrote that here) and I think he should start today.
My team (5-3-2): Pickford; Mykolenko, O’Brien, Keane, Holgate, Harrison; Gueye, Doucoure, Iroebugnam; Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin
Chris Beesley - One change from Brighton
Everton manager Sean Dyche has warned that he might have just 14 senior players to pick from for today’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur but all eyes are on who he selects to replace the suspended Ashley Young at right-back. Putting the oldest outfield player in Everton history up against Son Heung-Min might have been as successful as making the 39-year-old go toe-to-toe with Kaoru Mitoma the previous weekend anyway but with club captain Seamus Coleman, Nathan Patterson and James Garner all unlikely to be fit to fill the void according to the Blues boss, it seems he has something of a dilemma.
Unless Dyche decides to give youth a chance and hand a baptism of fire to teenage prospect Roman Dixon in the role – as this correspondent has already pointed out, given the stock the Everton manager seems to hold in selecting players with experience, it seems more likely he’d pick Lee Dixon at right-back – then the most obvious option is starting where the Blues finished off against Brighton & Hove Albion and selected Mason Holgate. The Yorkshireman, who saw red himself on a previous trip to London under Dyche when he was sent off in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on April 22 last year as the side slipped back into the relegation zone, may have been surplus to requirements at Goodison Park for over a year now but here is an opportunity to put himself in the shop window ahead of transfer deadline day and prove the doubters wrong with a strong display.