Coleman might play as Everton prepare for Clarets clash

Rafa Benitez held his pre-match press conference as Everton prepare to face Burnley and revealed that Seamus Coleman might play on Monday night.

This is another piece of good news for Everton after his injury had threatened a longer absence that would have exposed the failure to bring in another right-back in the recent transfer window.

A few days ago we had heard that a number of other players who have missed game time since the season started are also in contention to return to the team.

In particular, defenders Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey and midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin have been training this past week and are available for the game against the Clarets.

Effectively then, assuming Coleman is fit, Benitez has more or less a full squad of players to pick from as he assesses his options for the match in two days time.

So who will start on Monday night?

Well obviously Jordan Pickford returning from England duty will be in goal so defensively the decisions are at right-back and in central defence.

If Coleman is fit enough he would presumably start and so Benitez would then have a decision to make about who plays inside the Irishman.

Although Micheal Keane and Mason Holgate were solid enough at Brighton in the Blues last Premier League game, Keane has had serious wobbles this season.

But if they are fit enough, I would like to see Mina and Godfrey start together as they seem the best central defensive combination with Mina’s strength and power and Godfrey’s speed.

In midfield I guess Benitez will opt to continue with his dynamic duo of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Gbamin offers the Toffees boss another option but he’s very unlikely to play on Monday.

In attack, assuming Benitez sticks to his basic 4-2-3-1 formation, then it seems a given that Demarai Gray and Richarlison will both start behind the centre-forward. The question then is whether Andros Townsend or Alex Iwobi will start alongside them.

Both have impressed so far this season and both have started some games and then come on in others to good effect.

The rehabilitation so far of Iwobi is one of the most significant positives among many that we have seen in what has been a really solid start to the campaign.

I wrote back when Benitez took over as Everton manager that regardless of what happened in the transfer window, the new boss would have to get the most out of fringe players like Iwobi – assuming he stayed – if the Blues were to have a decent season.

As we know in the end the club didn’t do the business that they would have wanted to before the window closed and so making the most of his existing assets has become even more important.

Interestingly, Benitez mentioned in his press conference was the possibility of making a signing in the January window so we’ll see.

Talking of player assets the one intriguing issue is what if any role James Rodriguez will have in this match or others going forward.

It was clear that Benitez was perfectly happy for the Colombian to leave if he had a suitable offer and the club tried to organise a swap deal with him and Porto’s Luiz Diaz switching clubs.

Then there was a last-minute potential move to Turkey but that never looked realistic and didn’t happen so Rodriguez has stayed. Let’s hope he can make a positive contribution to the season however he is involved.

The only other issue really is whether Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be fully fit for the match as he’s been struggling with several minor but irritating injuries or if in fact new signing Salomon Rondon might start at centre-forward.

I imagine Calvert-Lewin will obviously play from the off even if he’s not 100%, but its very possible we’ll get to see what the Venuezuelan target man has to offer against Burnley.

This match on Monday is important not just as it’s a Premier League game and three more points up for grabs, but because it is the first game after the international break.

At this point last season the Toffees were flying and were unbeaten just like this time round but their form fell away dramtically after returning from the break and actually never really recovered. This time round we need to see Everton pick up where they left off before the break.

As for a predication I would like to think that Everton can replicate the kind of strong all-round performances shown especially at Brighton, and with that kind of attacking verve they will have too much for Burnley and gain all three points.