Everton ended 2025 with a surprising 2-0 away win over Notthingham Forest, with the shock coming mostly due to the how thin the Toffees were heading into the match.
Without the likes of Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye (both away at AFCON) and injuries to Michael Keane and Charly Alcaraz piling on top of previous ones to Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (not to mention Jack Grealish falling ill), Everton came into the match hanging by a thread.
So the Blues coming away with all three points, despite beating Forest by a 3-0 scoreline at home earlier in December, was a good outcome for the away side.
The Toffees will face a bigger task with their opening match of 2026, with Brentford coming to Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Bees sit in 10th in the Premier League table, one spot behind Everton, with both teams coming in with a shot to expand the gap between the two. A win for the home side could catapult them as high as 5th place, depending on other results.
David Moyes will still face plenty of selection headaches for today's match, with Alcaraz still out of service and Michael Keane a doubt heading into the match. Still, let's take a look at how Moyes could line up his side.
Everton projected lineup vs Brentford (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Jordan Pickford (GK): Nothing much to say here. He'll probably be needed to come up big today.
Vitalii Mykolenko (LB): The Ukrainian will have his hands full with the combination of Kevin Schade and Michael Kayode, so he'll need to be on his game.
James Tarkowski (CB): The captain was in great form on Tuesday against Forest, possibly due to being next to a more athletic partner than he has been for the rest of the season.
Jake O'Brien (CB): At this point, I'm not sure it matters if Keane is healthy. Jake O'Brien looks too good at center back to make him start at right back ever again. This team needs a solution at fullback so badly.
Nathan Patterson (RB): I don't love this. I don't think Patterson was very good on Tuesday. This is needs must, unless Moyes trusts one of the midfielders he's tried at the spot for a full ninety minutes.
Midfielders
Tim Iroegbunam (CDM): He's done well replacing Gana in midfield, but still needs to overcome a propensity for silly giveaways.
James Garner (CM): I wanted to start him at right back, but he's coming off his best performance of the season, so you can't make that change now.
Merlin Röhl (CAM): The German doesn't look totally comfortable here, and if there wasn't an option, he might not start or start deeper while Garner moves to right back. Again, needs must.
Forwards
Jack Grealish (LW): Appears to be healthy again, so he'll slide back into the lineup, no matter how well Tuesday's match went mostly without him.
Tyler Dibling (RW): I think we've seen enough of the Dwight McNeil Experiment on the right wing. Dibling is the future here, so he should be the guy until Ndiaye returns.
Thierno Barry (CF): The Frenchman is coming into his own, scoring twice in December after nothing for the first few months. Just tell him every team is Nottingham Forest and keep those Lukaku videos coming.