Everton and its newly minted Premier League Player of the Month look to maintain their excellent run of form as Aston Villa come to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday. Unlike Everton, Villa are not off to a great start to the campaign, failing to score in three matches so far.
The Toffees will look to maintain that run for their opponents, even as they continue to wait for the return of Jarrad Branthwaite to bolster their back line.
The hosts have plenty of injury concerns heading into this one, outside of Branthwaite, with Nathan Patterson still out, and Vitalii Mykolenko, Adam Aznou, and Iliman Ndiaye all potentially in doubt, with both Mykolenko and Ndiaye potentially serving as last-minute decisions tomorrow morning.
This may leave manager David Moyes with a few selection headaches, and put the bench in the tenuous position of being somewhat thin.
So with that, let's see if we can predict the how Moyes will line up his side for tomorrow's match against Aston Villa.
Everton Lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-2-1)
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Jordan Pickford (GK): After a stunning international break, the undisputed Everton (and England) no.1 will be back between the posts for the Toffees.
Vitalii Mykolenko (LB): Call it wishful thinking, but if the Ukrainian international is available, he should be the choice here. I wouldn't be against Adam Aznou getting a run, though.
James Tarkowski (CB): No doubt he'll be here so long as Branthwaite is out, but there's a case to be made that he's been second-best of the pairing so far this season.
Michael Keane (CB): He gets too much flak about his play, mostly because when he errors, it tends to be taken advantage of immediately, but Keane has been good in his time this year.
Jake O'Brien (RB): Eventually, he can't be the guy here, but for now, O'Brien continues to make the most sense. Over time, it would be good to see James Garner get a shot while the team seeks out a long-term answer for January.
Midfielders
Idrissa Gana Gueye (CDM): Had a useful international break and will be gone for a long period in December, but until then, Gana is the man in the middle of the park.
James Garner (CM): There's always a chance he could be called upon to fill in along the back line, although he's clearly more capable in the center of the park than out of position.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (CM): He's been better when asked to play a little deeper, so don't expect this to be a no.10 role, but his ability to ping the ball around is top-notch.
Forwards
Jack Grealish (LW): He's not going to be superhuman all season, but he's fresh and ready to go, which means Moyes should get the most out of him as much as he can.
Tyler Dibling (RW): If Iliman Ndiaye can't go, Moyes should give the youngster his first Everton start and give him a long chance to show what he can do. He did well for the England U21s during the break. If Ndiaye is fit, he should be here, but I'm not against giving Dibling the run.
Beto (CF): Thierno Barry is the future here, but Beto feels like the best fit for now, especially against Villa's back line.