Everton vs Brighton early injury news with two internationals set to return

David Moyes cut a frustrated figure after the matchday one defeat to Leeds United as Everton huffed and puffed without little impact being made.

A contentious penalty call might have been the slimmest of margins to lose by, however, it was a stark reminder of the work that still needs to be done behind the scenes if the Hill Dickinson Stadium is to see better times than that of Goodison Park over the last 30 years or so.

Everton look for first points of the season against Brighton

Up next for the Toffees is Brighton who dropped two points via a 97th minute equaliser against Fulham. Even on the first day of the season, managers know how costly losing such late goals can be given how competitive the Premier League is now. For Moyes, he knows that he needs luck and the officials to be on his side if his eyes are to look up the table instead of over his shoulder.

There is good news for Moyes though with Everton’s injury situation giving the manager something of a remedy for the headache that has been his club’s summer recruitment problems.

The defence in particular did well against Leeds given that they had almost an entire back four missing including three international players who Moyes would have wanted to be able to count on.

Vitaliy Mykolenko - available

Vitaliy Mykolenko has seen Everton look to provide him with a bit of competition with the signing of Bayern Munich’s Adam Aznou. James Garner had to fill in against Leeds and the midfielder will be hoping that he doesn’t have to play at left-back again. Not that he had a particularly bad game that is. The good news is, Aznou should be closer to being match fit but Myoklenko is expected to return to the squad having been close to making the first game of the season.

Nathan Patterson - available

Another area of concern for Moyes has been at right back, Jake O’Brien is the man in possession of the starting jersey with Seamus Colemen on the bench. One player who missed out and whose future is now in doubt is Nathan Patterson. The Scotland international has had a torrid time with injuries since signing from Rangers and despite being expected to be fit to return to the squad against Brighton, it would be a surprise to see either O’Brien or the skipper dropped to make room.

Jarrad Branthwaite - out

A big loss for Moyes has been Jarrad Branthwaite. After committing his future to Everton in the summer, the Toffees boss would have wanted to build his team around the towering stopper only to see a hamstring injury suffered in the last pre-season fixture against Roma cause him to miss out. According to the Premier League’s injury data, it could be another three weeks before the Cumbrian is seen in a blue shirt again.