While we did play a stronger team than many expected at Everton last time out, we were still probably 5 or 6 players who started who maybe wouldn’t be in the manager’s first choice starting XI if everyone
was fit and available, which just underlines the strength in depth we do have. That said, the likes of Luke O’Nien, Dennis Cirkin, Elezier Mayenda and Romaine Mundle did themselves no harm at all with very good displays, which is what you want when those players get a chance – so it’s given Le Bris a few welcome headaches, particulalry given Traore’s injury. New signing Ta Bi won’t be involved, and neither will Chemsdine Talbi and Habib Diarra, who are both still away at AFCON. Here’s how I think we might line up today.
Goalkeeper: Robin Roefs
After his heroic penalty shoot out performance, Robin Roefs will be in goal again today. This lad continues to impress – he’s such a rounded performer at such a young age; seriously impressive so far, and he’ll be hoping for another good game this afternoon.
Defence: Nordi Mukiele, Dan Ballard, Omar Alderete, Reinildo
We’re back up to a full complement to choose from in defence, which means the likes off Hume, Cirkin, O’Nien and Geertruida will be keeping their fingers crossed that they’ll get the nod. When everyone’s fit, it’s a process of elimination really. Reinildo is quality, and while Cirkin’s done well and shown he can be a Premier League player for us, Reinildo is just a level above at present – he looked in good spirits in the training video the club put out, so he’s likely to come back into the starting line up. Ballard starts if he’s fit, which it seems he is, and Mukilele will play as he’s pretty undroppable. That leaves one spot for Alderete – I like the balance he gives, and despite a poor game at Brentford, he’s been in excellent form for the majority of the season.
Midfield: Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki, Enzo Le Fee
It was a nice surprise to see Noah Sadiki line up alongside Xhaka and Le Fee last weekend – and he slotted straight back in, like he’d never been away. He showed just what we’d been missing over the past few weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing him play this afternoon. Alongside him today will be Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee, who were both excellent at Everton. It’s going to be interesting next weekend when Diarra’s available, but what a great problem to have!
Forward: Elezier Mayenda, Brian Brobbey, Romaine Mundle
There’s been a bit of talk about Romaine Mundle’s future and he did well at Everton last time out. While he’s a bit hit and miss at present getting past players, he’s very direct and wants to take shooting opportunities on – which we’ve struggled with a bit this season. After a strong showing last weekend I think he’ll keep his place today, and he’ll be wanting to stake his claim before Talbi returns. On the other flank, I think Mayenda will start – he did really well at Brentford when he came on as sub in that position, and played well more centrally at Everton. Brobbey will start up front after he was withdrawn as a precaution last time out.
