Everton predicted lineup vs Arsenal: Neal Maupay starts, Gray on the bench in 4-5-1 setup

Everton travels to London to face Arsenal on Wednesday as Sean Dyche’s men aim to bounce back from a home loss against Aston Villa. The away game at Arsenal is always a tricky fixture for the Toffees, losing four of the last five encounters at the Emirates Stadium.

Three weeks ago, Everton faced Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in what was Sean Dyche’s first game in charge and the Merseysiders walked with a 1-0 win. Everton will want a repeat of that performance but it won’t be an easy task to take points off the league leaders at their home.

Everton have had their goalscoring woes highlighted in bold. The issues have been further deepened because of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence, who is managing a hamstring problem and the underwhelming performances of Neal Maupay.  Dyche revealed that James Garner and Nathan Patterson will also miss the game along with Calvert-Lewin as the trio have been ruled out for the Arsenal trip.

Everton predicted lineup vs Arsenal

Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford

Jordan Pickford recently signed a new long term contract at the club but couldn’t celebrate it on the pitch as the Toffees lost 2-0. This time around, Pickford will be hoping to keep a clean sheet and help his side take points off the league leaders.

Right back: Seamus Coleman

Seamus Coleman did a fine job against Villa too as he continues to perform with a high work rate. With Nathan Patterson still out, there is no scope of rotation. Once Patterson returns, Dyche will give the young Scotsman a shot in the team but for now Coleman continues to ride strong.

Centre back: James Tarkowski

James Tarkowski has played every minute of the Premier League season and is an indispensable part of the Everton backline. He scored the winner against Arsenal at Goodison Park three weeks ago and is very much a threat from Everton’s set pieces.

Centre back: Conor Coady

Conor Coady hasn’t had the best of the games, although he has looked decent. The 30 year old has forged a strong partnership with Tarkowski and Dyche is unlikely to break the partnership against the Gunners.

Left back: Vitaliy Mykolenko

Vitaliy Mykolenko was excellent against Villa. He maintained a balance of pushing forward and being defensively sound in the game against Unai Emery’s men. After the unimpressive displays in the first half of the season, the Ukrainian seems a player reborn under Dyche.

Central midfield: Idrissa Gueye

Idrissa Gueye’s back to basics approach is working well for him, though at times he has looked slow and a bit out of sync. He still remains defensively committed and makes those important blocks and wins balls in the midfield.

Central midfield: Amadou Onana

Amadou Onana’s energy and technical ability is being used up efficiently in Dyche’s system. The Belgian is blossoming in the role and has the support of Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the midfield. Onana will be one of the impact players for Everton and if the Toffees are to come out with anything positive from the tie, Onana will have a part to play.

Central midfield: Abdoulaye Doucoure

Perhaps, Doucoure could be pushed up the pitch to increase the physical presence up top as the Toffees search for goals. The Malian midfielder has box to box qualities that can come in handy for Everton, given the lack of goal threat they have in the forward line.

Right wing: Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi will get a nod ahead of Demarai Gray because of his work ethic and the ability to create chances in the attack. Although, he wasn’t at his absolute best against Villa, he is still capable of doing the required job.

Left wing: Dwight McNeil

Dwight McNeil was excellent against Villa, arguably the best Everton player on pitch. The Englishman whipped crosses, made dangerous runs and combined well with Mykonlenko on the left. If he can keep up the intensity and repeat a similar performance against the Gunners, Everton could stand a chance of getting something out of the game.

Striker: Neal Maupay

Maupay started against Villa and struggled to make the most of the goalscoring chances. The Frenchman has now gone 17 games without scoring and his confidence would’ve also taken a blow. It is likely that Dyche will stick with Maupay and the Frenchman will be hoping to get on the score sheet as soon as possible.

Will Everton manage to get a positive result against the Gunners?