Everton at Wolves: Projected XI | No DCL, Richarlison doubtful

Everton made hard work of cup progression against Championship strugglers Rotherham United, and that could be detrimental to their league form with a tough clash against Wolves on Tuesday night.

So how will the Blues line-up?

Who’s Out?

Well, the bad news is that Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been ruled out with a (hopefully) short-term hamstring problem, while Richarlison will face a late fitness test for this one.

Jonjoe Kenny, Allan, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are still not yet available, but the Blues shouldn’t be too stretched with the creative forces of Lucas Digne and James Rodriguez now back in action.

Tactics and Formation

It looks set to be another 4-2-3-1 setup, although we’ll probably now see “real” full-backs in the line-up who will be looking to get forward as much as possible.

Cenk Tosun will likely start in DCL’s place, but the three supporting attacking options aren’t clear. Richarlison will start if fit, but if not Alex Iwobi or Bernard will take his place on the left. James Rodriguez may return to the right-wing if Gylfi is brought back in, but if not then Alex Iwobi may resume a role on the right.

Starters (likelihood of starting rated out of 10)

Jordan Pickford – 10/10

Pickford’s turn in the rotation continues.

Seamus Coleman – 9/10

Lucas Digne – 8/10

Mason Holgate – 7/10

Hard to predict who will line-up at centre-back with a choice of Keane, Holgate, Mina and Godfrey. Leaning towards Holgate as he will be fresher than Ben Godfrey who played 120 minutes against Rotherham

Michael Keane – 9/10

Abdoulaye Doucoure – 10/10

Tom Davies – 7/10

Another toss-up between Davies and Gomes, but would edge for Davies given he provides more defensive cover.

James Rodriguez – 9/10

Gylfi Sigurdsson – 8/10

Richarlison – 6/10

Is a doubt for this game, so could also be replaced by Bernard or Alex Iwobi.

Cenk Tosun – 10/10

No DCL means Cenk is almost certain to make his first Premier League start for Everton since Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment, unless the manager seems Richarlison fit to start as the striker.

Bench

Robin Olsen

Ben Godfrey

Yerry Mina

Niels Nkounkou

Andre Gomes

Alex Iwobi

Bernard

Anthony Gordon

Ellis Simms – Could make his Everton debut here.