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How will Everton cope without James

By Matt Townsend

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 05: James Rodriguez of Everton takes on Josh Brownhill of Burnley during the Premier League match between Burnley and Everton at Turf Moor on December 05, 2020 in Burnley, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Oli Scarff - Pool/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 05: James Rodriguez of Everton takes on Josh Brownhill of Burnley during the Premier League match between Burnley and Everton at Turf Moor on December 05, 2020 in Burnley, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Oli Scarff - Pool/Getty Images) /
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In yet another frustrating injury blow Everton will be without their Colombian star forward James Rodriguez tonight against Chelsea.

This is a major irritation for Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti as he prepares for the match against Chelsea later today. Even with a full strength side this would have been a tough match, now without his most creative attacking player it will be that much harder for the Toffees to get something from the game.

The manager had only just got his two South American forwards back playing together again after Richarlison’s suspension and Rodriguez’s earlier injury problems kept them both out of the team for several games.

Injuries have been a constant theme this season for the Blues with a host of players missing games due to getting hurt. And now without Rodriguez again as well as Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne, Everton are seriously weakened in key positions as they face one of the Premier League’s form sides.

It also means that yet again the Toffees boss can’t pick the same eleven he had on the field at the end of the team’s last game. This lack of stability is creating problems and leading to a more disjointed side, which impedes their ability to get results.

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We’ve looked at the possible side Ancelotti might now pick as he once more has to reshuffle his side to cope with another injury.

How then can the Blues adjust? That’s difficult to say as the Colombian has obviously become a key part of the Everton team since he signed.

His influence is substantial, even though his stats are not at first jaw-dropping. He’s scored three goals and made three assists but he is a key cog in how Ancelotti’s 4-3-3 operates creating lots of chances and feeding the other two forwards Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

According to Whoscored.com, the former Real Madrid player is fundamental to the Toffees attacking play. He delivers an average of 2.5 key passes per match in the Premier League and is one of the top-ranked attacking players in the English Premier League.

However, recently he has been hampered by the knock he got against Liverpool in October’s derby and it seems as though the constant round-robin of matches this season, hasn’t given him enough time to fully recover form that problem.

This scenario is what I feared might happen given the player’s long history of injury issues. Rodriguez has been plagued by injuries down the years and these have kept him out of the teams he represented for long periods.

This will become a real problem for Everton if the Colombian is constantly in and out of the side and even when he plays is almost always under-par. If this is the case, then finding someone who can slot into the team and to some extent replicate his contribution is a real test for Ancelotti.