Everton will welcome Southampton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon as they look to secure maximum points in front of their home supporters. The Toffees suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United in a pre-season friendly game recently which has slightly dampened the mood at the blue half of Merseyside ahead of what is set to be another exciting campaign of Premier League football.
Rafael Benitez could choose to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to bring Dominic Calvert-Lewin back for this game if the English marksman can pass a late fitness test. Richarlison could be named on the bench after he had a busy summer with the Brazilian national team.
4-2-3-1 Everton Predicted Lineup Vs Southampton
Defence
Jordan Pickford will operate in between the sticks for the Toffees as he looks to keep a clean sheet at home. Michael Keane will feature alongside Ben Godfrey at the heart of the Everton defence. We can expect the centre-back duo to try and keep things solid at the back so that they can deny the Saints from scoring a goal this weekend.
Seamus Coleman will play at right-back while Lucas Digne hopes to catch the eye on the other side as the left-back. Benitez will ask both of them to keep a decent shape and make some overlapping runs out on the wide areas.
Yerry Mina will have to settle for a spot on the bench as he provides cover for the centre-back positions.
Midfield
Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan are set to operate as the holding midfielders as they focus their attention on stopping Southampton from dominating possession at the centre of the park. The talented trio of Demarai Gray, James Rodriguez and Andros Townsend will function just ahead of them as part of Benitez’s attack. All three of them will be responsible for orchestrating some meaningful openings in the final third.
Richarlison returned to training recently and should be available for a place on the bench. The Brazilian sensation might come on to make an impact in the latter stages of the game if required.
Attack
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line for the Merseyside outfit if he can make himself available for this clash. The English striker enjoyed a rich vein of form in front of the opponent’s goal last season, so he will be expected to play another crucial role for the Toffees when the Saints visit Goodison Park this weekend.
