Everton travel to the home of Premier League champions on Sunday as Rafa Benitez prepares for potentially his biggest test so far as the Everton manager. Pep Guardiola’s side are filled with superstars capable of fire powering Manchester City’s multidimensional pursuit for trophies. They are arguably one of the most domineering sides in the Top Flight.
If facing Manchester City wasn’t a tough task, the task got even tougher as the Toffees have been dealt with another injury problem. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the two pillars of the team are already sidelined due to injuries.
Everton’s midfield saw the recent renaissance of Fabian Delph which has been a gush of fresh air in absence of Doucoure. Confidence has grown over Delph in the past two games but there will be vigilance from Benitez not to overwork the Englishman who has just returned from injury.
On the other hand, Allan has been performing well up to his standards and is likely to partner Delph in the midfield against Manchester City. However, Rafa Benitez may not have a lot of assistance from the bench in the midfield.
Tom Davies becomes the latest Everton injury
Andre Gomes has also been out of the team since September with a calf problem and continues to be unavailable but is on the road to recovery. The Toffees received another injury blow as midfielder Tom Davies will miss the trip to Manchester, as per Liverpool ECHO.
In fact, the Everton academy graduate could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury that he sustained before the international break against Tottenham Hotspur. No timeframe has been put on the 23 year old’s return but estimations are that he’ll remain out of action until mid-December.
The Spanish manager is now left with only three first team midfielders for the Man City clash. Allan and Delph are likely to start against the Cityzens and Jean-Philippe Gbamin would feature on the bench. With Davies out, Gbamin is the only midfield option that Benitez would have unless the former Napoli boss is willing to give Tyler Onyango his big break.
Mason Holgate who could play in the defensive midfield is also suspended which slims the options in the middle of the park. A lot of things will have to go right for Everton as they navigate through the tricky spell before the potential return of Gomes or Doucoure. Everton will hope that Delph doesn’t suffer any fresh injury setbacks, Gbamin’s inconsistency and injury issues do not reappear and Allan doesn’t pickup any knocks.
As for Rafa Benitez, he has this selection headache on how to carefully use the resources available without exploiting any of the midfielders’ physical conditions.
How badly will the injury of Tom Davies affect Everton?