Everton manager David Moyes met with the media today to discuss Sunday's Merseyside derby, which will be the Red's first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Blues will be hoping they can begin the series against their city-mates at the new ground with a bang, as the last several years at Goodison Park often ended up in disappointment for the home side.
In that regard, the injury portion of Moyes' press conference was good news for Evertonians, as the Scot announced that his Everton side is "as much close to [fully fit] as we can be.”
This includes midfielder Charly Alcaraz, who hasn't featured since making a brief cameo against Brighton on January 31. The Argentine last started for Moyes a few days before, on a festive fixture away to Burnley.
Moyes listed Jack Grealish as the only player for the club who is unavailable, as the Manchester City loanee continues to recover from surgery on his foot. Conversations continue about Grealish's potential return for next season, but for now, the assumption is that he will not play for Everton again.
The news also indicates that a player like Jarrad Branthwaite, who Everton have been closely monitoring minutes for since his late-January return from hamstring surgery, made it through Saturday's 2-2 draw against Brentford without any issue.
This is excellent, because as Everton's best central defender (and arguably one of the club's best players overall, irrespective of position), Moyes is going to need Branthwaite at full strength as the Toffees make the run toward a possible European position.
Against a side capable of scoring goals in bunches like Liverpool, having all hands on deck, especially in defense, will be paramount if Everton hope to secure a quality launch of Merseyside derbies at the new ground.
It isn't clear how much a player like Alcaraz will feature on Sunday, even if he is indeed fully cleared to return to action. The injury slowed down a run of matches where he either started or played 65+ minutes in December, but Everton were also without Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye during that period.
On the other hand, young midfielders like Merlin Rohl and Harrison Armstrong have not fully earned Moyes' trust in Alcaraz's absence, suggesting there could be an opportunity for the Argentine to step in as the direct backup to an attacking midfielder like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Any way you look at it, however, having a roster that is as close to healthy as it can be for the stretch run is good news. Now it comes down to how the manager chooses to utilize the players he has at his disposal.
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