More midfield injury issues for Dyche as Everton prepare to host West Ham

The Blues boss has been talking to the media before this weekend's Premier League clash at Goodison Park.
West Ham United v Everton FC - Premier League
West Ham United v Everton FC - Premier League / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Dyche was giving an update on his players and there was more bad injury news regarding Everton midfielders again with Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana battling to be fit.

Both are now a doubt for Saturday's game leaving Dyche once again with some potentially difficult selection decisions in that part of his team over the next few days.

Long-term absentees Arnaut Danjuma, Andre Gomes and Dele Alli are also still unavailable to him.

This is the latest in a series of injury problems that have impacted the Toffees recently, and helped to undermine a strong pre-Christmas run which had seen the team climb out of the relegation zone they found themselves in, following November's points deduction.

Those four straight wins now seem a long time ago. And indeed they are almost three months ago with Everton having failed to win a Premier League match since the 16th December.

Those injuries and the hangover from the increasing uncertainty about the club's future, and in particular the impact of the ten point deduction, had damaged the side's performances and results.

This week of course the Blues have had four points of the ten restored with the announcement from the appeal panel on Monday.

However, although that restored four points is welcome - although arguably it should be more - it is clear that Everton are certainly not in the clear in terms of their survival hopes.

In fact in my view, the news earlier this week has actually made this weekend's match even more important than it was anyway.

It is vital that Everton make use of the opportunity this decision on Monday gives them and try to create some extra momentum going forward.

In addition, the Toffees haven't won a Premier League game at Goodison since defeating Chelsea way back in mid-December and have only managed three league wins all season at home.

That record has to change if the Blues are to claw their way back up the table and most of all, stay there. Premier League permitting of course!

Dyche needs to think creatively to attempt to overcome his side's chronic lack of goals, which is obviously crucial to improving that terrible home record.

West Ham have had a solid enough season and won comfortably on Monday night when they beat Brentford 4-2 but they have also suffered some heavy defeats too.

These were the opponents the last time Dominic Calvert-Lewin managed to score a goal back in the dim and distant past of October. A lot has happened since then but he hasn't netted again.

A win on Saturday - especially if Everton can score more than a solitary goal and just hang on - would be a real boost to morale and cap what has so far been one of the better weeks in this troubled club's recent history.