Everton will entertain West Ham United at the Goodison Park on Friday night hoping to pick up a positive result and continue their good form in the Premier League. The visitors will come into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United. The Toffees, on the other hand, had their game postponed on Tuesday, so Carlo Ancelotti will have a fresh lot of players to choose from for this crucial encounter at home.
The Italian tactician will probably opt for his usual 4-3-3 formation with a single tweak from the game at Bramall Lane. Richarlison is expected to replace Anthony Gordon in the starting line-up. The Brazilian international was forced to follow concussion protocols after colliding with Eric Bailly in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last week.
4-3-3 Everton Predicted Lineup To Face West Ham United
Defence
Jordan Pickford should be the one in goal although Ancelotti might very well have other ideas. Yerry Mina will form the customary centre-half partnership with Michael Keane at the heart of Everton’s backline as they look to prevent Moyes’ men from finding the back of the net throughout the 90 minutes.
Makeshift full-backs Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate will continue to operate down the left and right-hand side respectively. Their prime objective should be to neutralise threats from Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals out in the wide areas.
Midfield
Adebayo Doucoure and Tom Davies will slot in as the holding midfielders; however, the latter could be assigned more of a central role as his ball-distribution will be decisive if the Toffees intend to dominate things at the centre of the park.
Carlo Ancelotti provided important injury updates on the fitness of James Rodriguez and Richarlison in his pre-match press conference. “Richarlison is OK but James no. For James we have to look day by day, unfortunately, he is not ready yet. It takes a little bit longer. I hope for the next game he will be ready. On January 9, he will be ready.” – The Italian stated.
Hence, Gylfi Sigurdsson is expected to retain his position in Everton’s midfield. The Iceland international would be determined to engineer some clear-cut goal-scoring chances for the men upfront.
Andre Gomes will have to settle for a spot on the bench but could come on to influence the game in the second half if needed.
Attack
As mentioned above, Richarlison should be fit to take up the left-wing spot on Friday night as he seems set to create menace for Moyes’ men in the wide areas. Alex Iwobi will continue to operate on the other flank, looking to stretch the home side’s attack on the right side of the pitch.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will spearhead Ancelotti’s attack up top. The Englishman has failed to score in his last five games; however, he will be eager to return to his goal-scoring ways this week.
