Everton fringe man in line for just fifth appearance as Frank Lampard can’t ignore teenager

Frank Lampard will be in charge of Everton when they face Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Friday.

The Toffees boss has come under pressure after the abject 4-1 loss to Brighton earlier this week. The result leaves Everton hovering just a point above the relegation zone.

Lampard has plenty of decisions to make about his starting line-up for the trip to Old Trafford. Here’s an early look at some of the questions posed to the Everton manager.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Lampard may take it as an opportunity to hand Asmir Begovic a start in the place of No.1 keeper Jordan Pickford. Begovic is a highly-regarded deputy.

Nathan Patterson's injury means that Seamus Coleman will likely start on the right. In truth, that was something you could envisage even if the Scot didn't suffer a setback.

On the left-hand side, Ruben Vinagre may make just a fifth Everton appearance during his season-long loan from Sporting Lisbon.

Lampard may look to rest either James Tarkowski or Conor Coady. Ben Godfrey looks fairly certain to come in, having been superb against City before being taken out of the team in the Brighton loss. Yerry Mina is another candidate to come in having recovered from illness.

If Lampard deploys a five-man defence then Coady or Tarkowski may have to feature as Mason Holgate and Michael Keane were absent against Brighton.

Midfield

Amadou Onana is back from suspension and you'd expect he'll come back into the engine room.

Idrissa Gana Gueye was well below his best against Brighton and may be taken out of the side, while Alex Iwobi is another who could be given some respite.

Tom Davies might make successive starts although didn’t take his chance in the Seagulls loss or Abdoulaye Doucoure may be given a rare outing from the first whistle.

But there's no doubt that some supporters would like to see teenager Isaac Price handed an opportunity to impress after making his second Premier League appearance against Brighton. He’s well regarded by Lampard and simply cannot be ignored.

James Garner is injured so cannot face his former club.

Forwards

Demarai Gray was about the only player who put in a decent shift in the Brighton reverse. He deserves a rest while a third game in a week for Dominic Calvert-Lewin is highly unlikely given his injury problems this season. That means Neal Maupay could spearhead the attack although Ellis Simms showed a bit about him off the bench against Brighton, having been recalled from his loan spell at Sunderland. Simms bagged seven goals for the Black Cats during the first half of the campaign.

Should Anthony Gordon be fit after missing the two games due to illness, there’s a good chance he’ll replace Dwight McNeil. Youngsters Stanley Mills and Tom Cannon are also options given they’ve both been prolific for the under-21s this term.