It's been a rough stretch of late for Everton, one that roughly lines up with the beginning of the Africa Cup of Nations, which saw Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye leave to play for Senegal.
Right around that same time, the club lost Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with a hamstring injury, adding to a lengthy injury list that includes Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman, and Charly Alcaraz.
Because of that, along with the continued suspension of Michael Keane, Everton manager David Moyes doesn't have much in the way of selection headaches, at least not in a good way. And as they head to Villa Park to take on a surging Aston Villa side, that's not exactly a good thing.
So our weekly attempt to predict how Moyes will select his side has gotten increasingly less difficult, although there are still enough questions that need to be highlighted. If nothing else, this group should hopefully indicate how needy this Everton squad is as the January transfer window gets nearer to closing.
Everton's predicted starting XI vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Jordan Pickford (GK): Nothing to say here. The England international kept the Blues in the FA Cup match against Sunderland far longer than they had any business being.
Vitalii Mykolenko (LB): Adam Aznou earned a chance to play with his performance against Sunderland, but this probably isn't the time to throw him into the fire as a defender.
James Tarkowski (CB): Branthwaite is nearing his return to the pitch, so it will be interesting to see how the center back pairing works out, especially if Everton add a right back this window. But for now, it's Tark's spot.
Jake O'Brien (CB): It doesn't take much to realize that the Irish international is miles better in his natural position. Here's hoping these three weeks will prove that to Moyes.
Nathan Patterson (RB): It sort of has to be at this point. There isn't really any other option, and the Scotland international hasn't been terrible when called upon in recent weeks.
Midfielders
James Garner (CDM): Tim Iroegbunam is another on the club's lengthy injury list, so Garner will be asked to cover in a more defensive position for one more week until Gana returns.
Harrison Armstrong (CM): The youngster has been useful since he returned from Preston North End on his loan spell.
Merlin Röhl (CM): It's pretty much by necessity that Moyes runs out this large group of younger, less experienced players. Röhlhas been better deeper, so he, Armstrong, and Garner may be semi-interchangeable.
Forwards
Jack Grealish (LW): After serving his suspension against Sunderland, there's little doubt the Manchester City loanee will be back in the lineup against his home club.
Tyler Dibling (RW): It's been said before in many places, but Dwight McNeil cannot be the option on the right because he's too left-footed. Dibling needs more minutes, even against a tough matchup like Villa.
Thierno Barry (CF): Beto got the cup start, and eventually Moyes opted for both strikers, but the general line of thinking in the Premier League is to let the young Frenchman get the run.