Everton took a massive step towards securing Premier League survival with a (depends on who you ask) VAR-assisted victory over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, but until they are mathematically safe the job remains incomplete. The next step towards that could come tomorrow, but it’s only one of the biggest games that Blues always circle on their calendars once the fixtures are released (and the Premier League stops moving the games around).
Liverpool come visiting Goodison Park for one of the very last times with their own agenda – their campaign for another title seemed on the rocks with a run of poor form that saw them exit the Europa League as well, but they looked to have gotten back on track with a win over Fulham over the weekend.
For Sean Dyche though, the task of nicking points off their neighbours got that much harder with the blow striker Beto took in the win against Forest that knocked him cold and he will subsequently miss the next couple of games as a precaution.
Beto had only come on because Dominic Calvert-Lewin had been taken off after having just returned from a hamstring ailment that he looked to have aggravated late in the first half too.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference earlier today, the gaffer updated the injury status for the team ahead of the Merseyside Derby.
“Hopeful [Calvert-Lewin] will be back for tomorrow. We will wait and see on that one.
“[Beto] definitely won’t feature for these next couple of games but he will be back after that – following the protocols, and rightly so. Good news so far. He has had all the checks needed and he’s fine. Obviously, he took a real knock but I thought the staff were terrific and obviously we want that. All staff involved were terrific – getting on there quick and dealing with things effectively on his behalf.”
Club captain Seamus Coleman is still out with a groin ailment, and though he is training on grass again, he will not be ready for tomorrow. With Nathan Patterson out for the rest of the season, will we see the error-prone Ashley Young, or will Ben Godfrey be given a chance?
The Blues’ other two longer term injuries remain out, with Lewis Dobbin (ankle) and Dele (groin) still not back in training.