Everton have a short window to prepare for their Premier League match against Brighton on Saturday (15.00 GMT).
The Toffees are back in action less than three days after defeating Burnley 3-0 to go to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. It means that manager Sean Dyche is unlikely to put his team through a rigorous training schedule in between games, with the emphasis in training likely to be on tactics, shape, and set-pieces.
Dyche named a solid starting lineup against Burnley and believes that a winning attitude is developing at Goodison Park. In reality, the Everton manager’s decision to select his team for Brighton’s visit will be straightforward. Despite putting the Clarets to the sword comprehensively, Arnaut Danjuma will almost certainly be replaced by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The on-loan Villarreal forward struggled to make an impression in the Burnley triumph after being handed a rare chance from the outset. Danjuma managed just 17 touches throughout and lost possession a total of five times. Defensive contributions were also scarce.
Indeed, it has been a frustrating few weeks for the Dutchman after making a relatively bright start to his Everton career. The return to full fitness of Dwight McNeil, coupled with Jack Harrison overcoming a hip injury he arrived with, has pushed Danjuma down the pecking order in the wide positions. And having been deployed just off striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Burnley, it was a role he struggled to adapt to.
‘He is certainly working hard, he is working hard in training,” Dyche said at his pre-Brighton press conference. “We wanted to try to free him up in the role we played him in last night but it is not easy when you are in and out of the side and you get put back in. But he is certainly working hard to adapt to the team.
“We believe, and he believes, that his best position is coming in off the left, but for anyone who watched, I thought Dwight McNeil was excellent last night, particularly in the second half, so there is a challenge there.”
”It’s not easy to be thrown in, and then you’re playing, not knowing if you’re in or out. On the other hand, because he is a brilliant player, we attempted to put him in a situation where we could free him up and exploit his talents.”
Doucoure, on the other hand, has become something of a talismanic figure since Dyche took over as manager last January, having been cast out by predecessor Frank Lampard. Doucoure has eight goals and two assists in 23 games under Dyche and has mastered the expectations of his boss in the attacking-midfield position.
Dyche, on the other hand, has some decisions to make on who starts at right-back. Ashley Young’s red card in Liverpool’s Merseyside derby loss opened the door for Nathan Patterson.
Last weekend, the Scotland international scored in the Toffees’ 1-0 triumph over West Ham. Young, on the other hand, returned to the team against Burnley and ended powerfully, sprinting into the area to score his first goal since joining from Aston Villa in the summer transfer window. Dyche must decide whether to keep Young’s nous and know-how or stick with Patterson in the Premier League.
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