David Moyes has achieved what he was tasked with after returning to the Everton hot seat.
When The Freidkin Group sacked Sean Dyche in January, the Toffees were staring down the face of another Premier League relegation battle. A 1-0 loss at AFC Bournemouth left Everton just a point above the drop zone. Dyche felt that he’d taken the squad as far as he could – and TFG intervened. The former Burnley boss was relieved of his duties and Moyes was quickly identified as his successor.
Moyes returned to Goodison Park some 12 years after his departure and he was briefed that a scrap at the foot of the table had to be avoided. With five games remaining, that has been achieved. Everyone has known for weeks that Everton are safe. But they mathematically cannot go down after the weekend’s results. Although the Blues suffered a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City, Ipswich Town’s 4-0 loss to Arsenal confirmed security.
Moyes has admitted he would have taken the situation after he arrived. But he will settle for his side to coast through the remaining five games. The Scot will demand a strong finish and to claim their best possible league position.
After running champions-elect Liverpool close, earning a 1-1 draw against second-placed Arsenal, beating then third-placed Nottingham Forest 1-0 and matching City for large parts before succumbing for two late goals, progress has been made. Moyes will be eyeing another upset when he takes Everton to Chelsea on Saturday.
The London outfit are in a battle to qualify for the Champions League and still have plenty to play for. They required two late goals to earn a 2-1 win at Fulham yesterday and move up to fifth in the table. However, Chelsea lost Malo Gusto to injury in the closing stages of the Craven Cottage encounter. The defender has replaced Reece James at half-time but was forced off with a minute of normal time remaining. Head coach Enzo Maresca admitted that Gusto’s issue does not look too good.
Maresca said via Football London: “Unfortunately it’s not a good one, a muscle problem and you can see against Ipswich, second half he was inside, changed the game, today he was inside, changed the game, how important is Malo for us and unfortunately it looks like a muscle injury.”
Chelsea are also set to be without Wesley Fofana, Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman. However, Romeo Lavia was back on the bench against Fulham.
Everton team news
Everton, meanwhile, are likely to be missing key defender James Tarkowksi. The Toffees centre-back was forced off in the second half against City with a hamstring injury. Tarkowski immediately signalled to the bench that he could not continue and it would be a major surprise if he can play against Chelsea.
Since signing for Everton on a free transfer from Burnley in 2022, Tarkowski has played in all 111 Premier League matches. He is currently three games short of Wayne Bridge’s record of consecutive appearances. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring), Jesper Lindstrom (hernia) and Orel Mangala (ACL) remain unavailable for the Toffees.
