Everton will face Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup at Goodison Park on Tuesday night.
The Toffees, after a disappointing run of results, came back to winning ways on Saturday, thrashing Fulham 3-0 in the Premier League at home. Gylfi Sigurdsson bagged a brace while Cenk Tosun also got into the goalscoring act. Before the weekend’s triumph, Everton’s last win had come against Rotherham United in the second round of the League Cup in August.
Having already gotten the better of Mark Hughes’ Saints in a league game last month, Marco Silva’s brigade should fancy their chances heading into Tuesday’s encounter at home.
Ahead of the game, let’s take a look as to how the Merseysiders might line up against Southampton in the midweek fixture.
The Toffees’ summer imports from Barcelona – Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina – will miss out as they recover from hamstring and metatarsal injuries respectively. Senior right-back Seamus Coleman is also sidelined with a foot problem, while midfielders Beni Baningime and James McCarthy are also expected to miss out.
The veteran Dutch keeper started the last cup game against Rotherham and should return to the line-up when the Saints come visiting on Tuesday.
With Seamus Coleman out with an injury, Silva will be forced to continue with Jonjoe Kenny.
The 21-year-old didn’t start the last two league games for the Toffees but should find himself featuring from the get-go in place of Michael Keane.
Could continue in the heart of the defence alongside Holgate.
The veteran Englishman has found himself behind Lucas Digne in the starting setup under Silva but Tuesday’s game will present him with an opportunity to reclaim his spot from the Frenchman.
The manager hasn’t provided a lot of minutes to the talented Lookman so far. That should change this week though, with the gifted youngster in line to feature on the right flank.
The England U21 international is another young talent. Started the last cup tie against Rotherham and should do so again on Tuesday.
Having captained the team in the win over Rotherham last month, the 20-year-old should feature from the kick-off in the middle of the park.
Signed in the summer, the Brazilian wide man has seen just 69 minutes of action so far. Should be handed his first start of the season against the Saints.
The Senegalese centre-forward has found himself behind the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun in the pecking order at Everton. A good performance in the cup tie should boost his chances for regular appearances in the Premier League.
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Having been dropped from the starting line-up for the last two fixtures, the Turkish striker made an impact coming from the bench, scoring the second goal against Fulham on Saturday. That should earn him a starting berth for Tuesday’s cup tie.