Everton could land double boost against Ipswich Town as David Moyes 'wants to adapt' new tactic
David Moyes has decisions to make when it comes to who starts up front when Everton face Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
It’s a decision that David Moyes will be pondering throughout this week.
Despite Everton being safe from Premier League relegation, the Goodison Park manager has made his intentions clear - he wants to finish as high as possible in the Premier League table.
While there could be tweaks here and there, Moyes wants to win as many of Everton’s remaining four games as possible. He declared that stance before last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Chelsea. For an hour, the Toffees struggled at Stamford Bridge before improving in the final third of the encounter.
As Everton go through their paces at Finch Farm this week in preparation to face Ipswich Town at L4 on Saturday, Moyes will be running the rule on the players he believes can yield all three points.
There will be some debate when it comes to the position of striker. Moyes was openly critical of Beto’s error in the build-up to Nicholas Jackson’s first-half strike. Beto lost possession too easily, which allowed Chelsea to launch a counter-attack.
Beto enjoyed a purple patch after Moyes’ return as manager in January. The Guinea-Bissau international was largely overlooked by former boss Sean Dyche but fired five goals in seven games for Everton. However, Beto has now gone eight matches without being on the scoresheet. While he is under contract for another two years, there is again some debate as to whether the Toffees should look to cash in when the summer transfer window opens, having attracted interest from Serie A in January.
Against Ipswich, Everton will welcome Armando Broja back into their squad. He was ineligible to face Chelsea, with Premier League rules not allowing the loanee to face his parent club. Broja has endured an injury-hit spell on Merseyside, arriving with an Achilles injury and then sustaining ankle ligament damage. His performance in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester City earlier this month left a lot to be desired.
It’s almost certain Everton will not be splashing out the £30 million to make the Albania international’s move permanent. But Moyes may want one final look as to whether Broja can show something that another loan could be explored.
There will be fans clamouring for Youssef Chermiti to be given a chance. The 20-year-old has also been dogged by injury problems this campaign. He wasn’t even on the bench against Man City, although Moyes has insisted that Chermiti will get a chance.
But there could be good news when it comes to Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He hasn’t been available since picking up a serious hamstring injury during a 1-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion in January. Calvert-Lewin was favoured by Dyche to spearhead the attack but most games were a thankless task. The 11-cap England international looked somewhat rejuvenated under Moyes’ tutelage, scoring a fine goal in a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Daily Mail reports that Calvert-Lewin is expected to be back in training ahead of the visit of Ipswich. The 27-year-old’s contract expires in June and there has been plenty of debate over his future. It is suggested that an exit has not been ruled out although Moyes has some hesistations over Calvert-Lewin’s fitness issues and whether he can ‘withstand the pressing game he wants to adopt’.
