Everton will likely be without two important central defenders for the visit of Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday, in what will be the men’s team’s final fixture played at Goodison Park.
James Tarkowski has already been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, and the club’s vice-captain was joined on the sidelines by Jake O’Brien last weekend, who missed the 3-1 win at Fulham with an unspecified injury.
The much-maligned Michael Keane stepped in to deputise, and performed excellently at both ends, keeping Fulham at bay for most of the afternoon with six clearances, five interceptions, and three aerial duels won, while also powering home a header that put Everton 2-1 in front midway through the second half.
Keane has always been notorious for having an eye for goal, even being brought on as a striker during the latter months of Sean Dyche‘s tenure, but he played an important role for current manager David Moyes, helping them to a rare three points at Craven Cottage last week.
That strike also means that Keane has now matched Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s tally of three Premier League goals this season, despite playing roughly half of the minutes, and being a defender, and he also has the second-best goals-per-minute ratio in the team this season, with a goal ever 313 minutes, which is only bettered by Beto.
Beto also did his best to keep Calvert-Lewin from replacing him in the starting XI by netting the clincher at the Cottage a week ago, taking him to double figures for the season – the first Everton player to do so since Richarlison three years ago.
It was the introduction off the bench of Dwight McNeil that had a huge impact a week ago, adding a bit of extra quality on the right flank, and delivering the corner that saw them go in front, but on the opposite wing, Iliman Ndiaye had less of an impact as a sub, after being dropped by Moyes, with Carlos Alcaraz doing more than enough to keep his place in the side.
After two difficult afternoons against Ipswich Town and Chelsea, Nathan Patterson was dropped from the side in favour of 39-year-old Ashley Young at right-back, while there was a rare cameo for Seamus Coleman, who has been held back in the hope of playing a significant portion of this fixture, given everything he has done for the club over the past 15 years, and he is the man who almost all Everton fans will want to see score a potential farewell goal at Goodison.
Elsewhere on the injury list, Everton’s other absentees are both loanees who have most likely played their last games for the club, with Orel Mangala out with an ACL tear, and Jesper Lindstrom recovering from a hernia operation.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Young, Keane, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Alcaraz, Gueye, Garner, Doucoure, McNeil; Beto
Click here to see how Southampton could line up for the Goodison farewell.
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