Richarlison & Gomes available, van de Beek & Godfrey updates

Everton are about to embark on a fortnight of five games that could determine the direction of the club for years going forward, starting with a trip to Leicester City on Sunday.

The Foxes saw their European dreams come to an end with a loss to AS Roma on Thursday night in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, a competition that Brendan Rodgers had prioritized this season with injuries and COVID blighting their league form. With little to play for it will be interesting to see how strong a lineup he puts out against the Blues.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference today, manager Frank Lampard provided an injury update, starting with Richarlison who left the win over Chelsea with a calf issue late on.

“No changes for us. We had a pretty good week with recovery for the lads, a couple of little niggles but hopefully we’ll be the same as we were (for Chelsea).

“Yeah, Richy’s got a bit of a sore ankle from the one he twisted at Liverpool. That’s sort of been around since then, but hopefully will be fine.”

On-loan Donny van de Beek continues to be out but Andre Gomes returns to the squad, with the midfield ranks bolstered by the addition of Tom Davies last week. Defender Ben Godfrey is going to miss at least another couple of games as well.

“Andre’s back in the squad for selection, Donny’s not. Ben Godfrey is not fit, hopefully he’ll be training with us in the middle of next week.”

Lampard had earlier spoken about managing Yerry Mina’s minutes but had no updates whether he would be available for Sunday. Two players are out on long-term injuries and will not return this season, Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson.