Carlo Ancelotti shouldn’t have to make too many changes to his side when Everton face Sheffield United on Sunday.
The Blades have already been relegated and are one of the worst sides defensively in the whole Premier League.
On paper, Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have a field day against his former employers.
The striker has scored 21 goals this term and is back in form having bagged two goals in his last three outings.
On the chalkboard
During the Toffees’ 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last time out, a few players let the manager and coaching staff down.
Seamus Coleman had a troublesome afternoon down the right while Allan was bypassed on a regular basis in the middle of the park.
Another player who should be sweating over his place in the side is Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Bought for £45m, it’s hard to argue the Iceland international has ever truly been worth that sum of money. He is their joint chief creator on nine assists but he has put in a number of sluggish displays in a row now.
Sigurdsson scored twice against Spurs back in April but he’s not been involved in a single goal since; that’s a run stretching to four matches.
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He lost 75% of his duels against Villa and has completed just three key passes and one dribble during those aforementioned four outings.
His influence in the final third has waned significantly so it wouldn’t be a great surprise if Ancelotti turns to someone else on Sunday.
Everton should have enough quality to defeat the Blades but they’d be better off without the 31-year-old in their side on Sunday.
Sigurdsson has had a productive campaign, finding himself involved in 17 goals, but he now hasn’t created a goal since the middle of March. That simply isn’t good enough for a team chasing European football.
With that in mind, their manager should turn to James Rodriguez and axe his £100k-per-week attacking midfielder.
The Colombian is back from an injury that’s ruled him out of the last three matches and he should return to the fray immediately. With nine assists to his name, James could bring some much-needed creativity from the flanks.