This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Everton are just hours away from taking on Liverpool at Anfield tonight in a Merseyside derby that could well determine Marco Silva's future.

Discussion regarding his starting XI has been rife ahead of the game, and The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland has weighed in with his opinion on who should start up front.

What's the word?

It doesn't get much bigger than this for Silva.

The Portuguese manager's job is seemingly hanging by a thread which looks likely to be snipped unless he clinches a stunning victory over Everton's city rivals this evening.

But which 11 players will he trust to go onto the pitch and save his job? There are a handful of players who appear to pick themselves, but that is not the case at centre-forward.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was trusted to lead the line against Leicester on Sunday and, despite calls for Moise Kean to start tonight, Boyland believes that the 22-year-old should keep his place.

 

Stick or twist?

If ever there was a time to gamble, it may well be tonight.

Silva's faith in Calvert-Lewin has been a divisive sub-plot during his reign, and the scrutiny over his credentials to lead the line have intensified following a relatively anonymous display at the King Power Stadium.

Kean's impact and fiery presence from the substitutes bench last Sunday provided a timely reminder of his ability to Silva, but it would certainly be a surprise if the 19-year-old prodigy was handed his first Premier League start since September off the back of one impressive cameo.

And as Boyland suggests, the extent of his impact from the bench suggests he may be a more effective weapon during the latter stages of the game rather than from the outset.