Dyche makes 8 changes in predicted Everton lineup v Leicester

It’s here. Matchweek five. Will Everton overturn the woes of the opening month of the 2024/25 campaign, or will Sean Dyche‘s hold on the managerial position at Goodison Park devolve into something more tenuous?

The blue side of Merseyside has become a hotbed of misery and worry after four successive Premier League defeats to start the season off. The Toffees have held two-goal advantages in each of their previous matches but lost both.

Now, against newly-promoted Leicester City, something needs to change. After crashing out of the Carabao Cup in a penalty shootout loss against Southampton on Tuesday evening, Dyche knows that he needs to turn things around – even if the board have expressed their backing of the 53-year-old.

He enforced a sweep of changes for the midweek tie, but could now revert to something more regular, with as many as eight tweaks being made – quite a reshuffle.

1

GK – Jordan Pickford

He hasn’t been in the best of form recently but Jordan Pickford is still one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and will prove himself once again soon.

Leicester have yet to win in the top flight this season, and Pickford’s sharp positioning and awareness will be called into play against the evergreen Jamie Vardy.

2

RB – Ashley Young

Ashley Young will probably be named in Dyche’s starting line-up, with Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson both suffering on the sidelines.

The 39-year-old is quite clearly past his best but does offer experience and command at a time when the Toffees backline needs to rally.

He’ll want to make amends after missing the penalty that lost his side the shootout in midweek.

3

CB – James Tarkowski

Everton’s rock-solid skipper has struggled this term, but then James Tarkowski is yet to fuse with Jarrad Branthwaite, who continues to languish in the recovery room.

Still, the 31-year-old is an excellent defender and could be the man to subdue Vardy and co. As per Sofascore, he’s still won 59% of his duels in the 2024/25 Premier League season, averaging 3.3 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and two clearances per game.

4

CB – Michael Keane

Michael Keane has stood in for Branthwaite this season and is yet to miss a minute across the Premier League and Carabao Cup, scoring and assisting one goal apiece.

He’ll continue to hold down the fort. The 31-year-old is certainly not perfect but he’s dominant in the air – though has won a measly 44% of his ground duels thus far.

5

LB – Vitalii Mykolenko

Vitalii Mykolenko missed out earlier this week due to the illness that had swept virulently through the Everton squad. He’s hopefully okay now, and will be needed for the clash this weekend.

With Young at right-back, Mykolenko could re-establish some kind of balance down the left flank, having been benched for last weekend’s clash against Villa too.

6

CM – James Garner

The experiment to put James Garner in a makeshift right-back role last time out in the Premier League didn’t work, so he must return to the middle of the park.

The former Manchester United youth is a dynamic and multi-functional midfielder. He’s also been hailed for his “phenomenal” playmaking in the past by pundit Trevor Sinclair, which could be key against a shaky Foxes backline.

7

CM – Tim Iroegbunam

Signed from Villa for a reported £9m fee in the summer, with Lewis Dobbin going the other way, Tim Iroegbunam has started life in Liverpool with promise.

The up-and-coming midfielder is so athletically robust – and tenacious besides. Having started all four of Everton’s league matches, he’s averaged 7.3 successful duels, eight ball recoveries and 3.8 tackles per game. Some remarkable numbers, there.

8

RM – Jack Harrison

Jack Harrison has had an indifferent start to the season, his second as an Everton loanee from Leeds United, but he’s been quietly effective without notching a goal contribution, energetic in his ball carrying, frequent in his dribbling and combative in his defensive work.

He’ll replace summer arrival Jesper Lindstrom, who was lively against Southampton but was branded with a 4/10 match score by Liverpool World’s Will Rooney after a wasteful display.

9

AM – Abdoulaye Doucoure

Dyche said last year that Abdoulaye Doucoure is the “catalyst” of Everton’s attack, and while that may not be the case any more, the experienced ace is still an invariable goal threat.

Indeed, he opened the scoring against the Saints and will be hoping to make his mark once again and get the Blues’ season up and running in Leicester.

10

LM – Dwight McNeil

Dwight McNeil scored and assisted as Everton stormed into the lead against Aston Villa, though the Merseysiders were felled by a capitulation late on.

The winger’s importance must not be understated. It sometimes feels like he’s escaped from a bygone era of football, with traditional mechanics to his craft.

But that’s hardly to say that he’s been ineffective. Indeed, as you can see above, McNeil has been in form that’s fitting for any top Premier League outfit across these opening fixtures.

11

CF – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s resurgence throughout 2024 has been one of the brighter sparks in Dyche’s side’s travails. He’s started the current campaign with aplomb, insofar as ‘aplomb’ can be attributed to a player in a team beset with the worst start to the season throughout Europe’s top-five leagues.

The towering striker is out of contract at the end of the season, but perhaps this will work in Everton’s favour (in the short term). He’s playing to impress, and with two goals and an assist from four games, he could be crucial in turning this thing around.

Predicted Everton line-up in full: (GK) Jordan Pickford; (RB) Ashley Young, (CB) James Tarkowski, (CB) Michael Keane, (LB) Vitalii Mykolenko; (CM) James Garner, (CM) Tim Iroegbunam; (RM) Jack Harrison, (AM) Abdoulaye Doucoure, (LM) Dwight McNeil; (CF) Dominic Calvert-Lewin