Everton have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season under old hand David Moyes. An opening day win was followed up by three draws against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Tottenham whilst comfortably dispatching Preston North End and Wolves in the Carabao Cup as well.

A chaotic final day of the transfer window left them high and dry with a number of potential signings as Iliman Ndiaye and Beto departed without any real replacements coming in. Despite that, Everton still have a very strong first team squad with plenty of Premier League experience.

Goalkeepers

England number one Jordan Pickford has now been a Premier League goalkeeper for more than 10 seasons, something not many other keepers in the league can say. An excellent shot stopper, he's already up to +1.02 goals prevented in the league and comes into this one off the back of a clean sheet.

Mark Travers is the Toffees' second choice with Tom King completing the goalkeeping unit.

Defenders

It's been a consistent back four as you'd expect from this Everton team with James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite the centre-back pairing.

Tarkowski is another with plenty of Premier League experience and always leads the way for defensive metrics. His combined blocks and clearances last season were higher than any other player in the Premier League.

Alongside him Branthwaite is looking to regain the form that saw him make his England debut in 2024 before being hit by injury. Like Tarkowski, he's big and strong and good at the basics but is more cultured on the ball than his counterpart as one of the most two footed defenders in the league.

Vitaliy Mykolenko has been ever-present at left-back and has been moulded from a raw athletic prospect when he joined in 2022 to an all-round full-back. He does his defensive duties but also isn't afraid to pick the right time to go on the overlap which resulted in his first assist of the season against Preston in the cup.

At right-back there is a new face in Merlin Röhl, who joined in the summer for SC Freiburg, who was at Everton on loan last season. The 24-year-old German played all of his Bundesliga football in various midfield roles and was used sparingly in the same fashion last season. With Seamus Coleman moving on, there was a gap in the squad and David Moyes has seen something in the 6ft 4in tall man that he thinks will complement the rest of his backline at right-back, trialing him in the role over pre-season with Röhl impressing enough to keep the spot going into the season proper.

However, he missed out against Tottenham last Saturday with one -time Town loanee, Ainsley Maitland-Niles stepping in for him, having fired home a wonder strike to level the game against Manchester United in the last minute in the game prior.

Michael Keane, who scored a screamer at Portman Road the last time Ipswich were in the Premier League, and last season's unconvincing converted centre-back to right-back, Jake O'Brien, are the extent of the rest of the defensive unit.

Midfielders

Ahead of the backline is a midfield three. At the base is James Garner, another who had to fill in at right-back in recent seasons but is more at home as a defensive midfielder combining tough-tackling with an eye for a pass.

Slightly further ahead of him is 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong, who was recalled halfway through last season following loan spells at Derby and Preston North End to be integrated into the side.

The homegrown youngster won the club's Young Player of the Season award last season and is highly rated and has drawn comparisons to Declan Rice in terms of his build and style of play. He's featured alongside Garner so far this season, providing more of a box-to-box threat.

Garner and Armstrong providing the solid base allows Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to float about in his favoured free role. The former Leicester man has proved to be Everton's main creative outlet this season, generating more threat and creating more chances than any other Toffees player.

That has left last season's Championship Player of the Season, Hayden Hackney, left looking for minutes off the bench and in the cup competitions with Town knowing all about his impact if he does get an opportunity.

Christian Norgaard was another summer signing after an unsuccessful spell at Arsenal but won't be fit until after the international break, which just leaves Carlos Alcaraz who made an impact on loan in the 2024/25 season but failed to score last season having moved to Goodison from Flamengo permanently.

Forwards

Twenty-year-old Tyrique George is another who has turned a loan move into a permanent switch and continues to impress in the blue of Everton. He sits behind Abdul Fatawu and alongside Mathys Tel with successful take-ons, putting him joint-second in the league and has produced some end product too with a fine strike against Manchester United. He's one that Town's right-hand side will need to keep an eye on.

On the other flank is an Iliman N'Diaye-shaped hole, which was filled by Brennan Johnson against Tottenham. Johnson does have a goal and an assist so far this season, but both of those came against Preston in the Carabao Cup. He's struggled to replicate that in the Premier League, which could see his place under threat.

The most obvious replacement would be deadline-day loanee Jack Grealish, who regained some of his former swagger last season with the Toffees. The tactical dilemma Moyes will have to consider is the fact that both Grealish and George prefer playing off the left.

The other option is Tyler Dibling, who, when breaking through at Southampton, drew a lot of comparisons to Grealish in terms of his style of play. He's struggled to kick start his Everton career with just four league starts last season and will be looking to use cup games to play his way into contention.

As mentioned earlier, Beto left to join Fiorentina on deadline day leaving Thierno Barry as the only senior number nine in the Everton squad. He started the season on form with a goal against Crystal Palace, followed by a hat-trick against Preston North End but has drawn a blank in the last three league games, missing four big chances across those fixtures.

If his form dries up or he gets injured, then Everton are really in trouble and will either have to switch to a false nine or give opportunities to 18-year-old Northern Irishman Braiden Graham, who has been on the bench against Tottenham and Manchester United.

Prediction

Everton fielded six of their starting line-up from the above game against Tottenham in the cup on Thursday night, so there could be signs of fatigue with Maitland-Niles, Mykolenko, Dewsbury-Hall and Barry all playing 90 minutes.

Again, the fixture list seems to have fallen nicely for Town because facing a thin squad with tired legs and just a day's rest is the ideal proposition for a fully rested Town side. I'm going for a 2-1 away win.

armchaircritic59 added 00:07 - Sep 19 David Moyes sides are seldom easy to beat, short of personal or otherwise. I think this is a very tough call and I'm not going to. Just hoping for a decent game of football and something to show for it.
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