Claudio Ranieri takes his Watford side to Goodison Park looking for his first win as their new boss in only his second game.
Rafael Benitez will be without a number of key men for the fixture as Everton’s injury issues continue however there is some positives.
Arguably their most key player, Richarlison, is back in training and he will be vital for The Blues if they are to get back to winning ways after their dull loss to West Ham.
In his press conference Benitez said: “Obviously the match fitness is an issue but he is happy and available.”
So therefore, he may not be fully ready to start and if he does then possibly the Brazilian may not be risked for the full 90 minutes.
Fabian Delph is also back in full training and will finally be available, he will be hoping to put his injury problems behind him however it will be a surprise to see him start this weekend.
The negative injury news is rather damning though.
As reported earlier on in the week Abdoulaye Doucoure has suffered a broken foot and will be out for a lengthy period of time.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been side-lined since the away win at Brighton, is also going to be unavailable for a lengthy spell which is expected to be around five weeks according to Benitez.
On top of all this Yerry Mina felt his hamstring in training so he is ruled out of Watford, which is a massive blow as he has been Everton’s best centre back so far this season.
Benitez seemed to blame the international break for Mina’s injury as he mentioned the fact that the Colombian started all three games for his country.
So it will likely be Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane at the back again.
Anthony Gordon will be eyeing up a starting spot on Saturday afternoon after Alex Iwobi’s poor performance against West Ham.
He impressed when he played Manchester United so he will be eager to get another chance to do so.
Watford have someone back in training who Everton will know but not very well.
Josh King is in contention to face his old club and he will be wanting to show supporters what they could have had.
The Norwegian international joined Everton in January and made 11 appearances but only accumulated 137 minutes as Carlo Ancelotti barely gave him a chance.
Watford supporters will be hoping he can kickstart his career at the club with a goal as they desperately need some soon after getting dominated against Liverpool last weekend.
The new manager bounce did not seem to work and if a similar performance is put in against Everton it could be a long hard season for the team that have just came up.
Evertonians will be hoping and probably expecting a much more dominant display after watching their side only have two shots on target with 38% possession last weekend.
A win will see Benitez’s side move into the top four which should give everyone in the stands and on the pitch a reason to be pumped up for the game.
