Everton clash heads with Brighton at the Goodison Park on Sunday hoping to start the new year with a win. Everton’s last 3 fixtures were all postponed due to Covid-19 with their last game coming against Chelsea where they drew with a second-string side. Everton currently sit 15th on the table with 19 points from 17 games played. Rafael Benitez will expect his side to put up a strong performance on Sunday to start the new year with a win in order to push up the table. A 2-1 win against Arsenal was their only victory since September as they aim to turn things around in 2022 and end the season on a high.
4-3-3 Everton Predicted Lineup Vs Brighton
Defence
Jordan Pickford will start between the sticks for the Toffees aiming to keep a cleansheet which has been a rarity this season.
Micheal Keane and Mason Holgate are expected to start at the heart of the defence which has looked shaky throughout the season. Benitez will be expecting from his centre-backs to keep it tight at the back and not give any space to the Brighton attackers to work with in the final third. Yerry Mina is still out injured and will miss the tie. Jarrad Branthwaite will be on the bench to cover for the defensive options.
Seamus Coleman is expected to be back in the starting lineup and will start at the right full-back along with Ben Godfrey at the left full-back.
Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/)
Imago Images (https://www.imago-images.de/)
Midfield
Rafael Benitez is expected to start with a midfield 3 of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan and Andre Gomes in the middle of the park. These 3 players have not started any game for the Toffees this season due to injuries and now when they are all fit together we are likely to see them starting for the first time this season. Both Allan and Doucoure provide a great balance in the centre of the pitch with Allan shielding the defenders and Doucoure making late runs into the box and linking up play. Gomes will add into that balance to control the tempo of the game with his passing and distribution.
Tom Davies has returned to training following his injury and is expected to be on the bench while Fabian Delph is expected to miss the clash after testing positive for Covid-19 recently.
Attack
A front 3 of Demarai Gray, Salomon Rondon and Alex Iwobi is expected to lead the line on Sunday. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s return to training will hand a massive boost to Benitez and he might be on the bench after 4 months since suffering the injury against Brighton in August. Richarlison is likely to miss out as he is still recovering from a calf injury.
