Everton could get double fitness boost after youngster gives Sean Dyche another dilemma

Everton have had the last laugh on Sky Sports schedulers who were seemingly eager to be voyeurs on what they thought would be a survival ‘six-pointer’ at Luton Town on Friday night but the Blues still owe it to the others involved in the fight to stay up to give it their best shot at Kenilworth Road.

With the Blues having secured their Premier League status for another season, if Sean Dyche does want to try some significant experimentation before the campaign is over, the following weekend against already-relegated Sheffield United would be the time but not yet with the integrity of both Nottingham Forest (even if those words in the same sentence might seem odd) and Burnley at stake. Therefore, it would probably be prudent to keep Jordan Pickford in goal rather than giving Joao Virginia a potential run-out just yet.

Doubts remain over club captain Seamus Coleman’s fitness and Vitalii Mykolenko is awaiting scan results so the back four of Ben Godfrey, Ashley Young, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite could remain intact. However, there is scope to rest one of the centre-backs and bring in Michael Keane – so long as the defender of whom it is often quipped “is the best finisher at the club” isn’t required up front again like when he came on as a stoppage time substitute against Brentford.

READ MORE: 'You don’t even know the half of it' - Sean Dyche explains reasoning behind Everton claim

READ MORE: I always believed Sean Dyche was the right man for Everton - and he's just proved that

Midfield is arguably the area of most potential change with Amadou Onana, looking for game time ahead of this summer's European Championships with Belgium, and Andre Gomes both available to move into one of the central berths at the expense of James Garner, Abdoulaye Doucoure or Idrissa Gueye, the match-winner against the Bees. Arnaut Danjuma is now fit-again and has been on the bench for the last four matches having not featured since he went off in stoppage time at the end of the game at Fulham on January 30 with ligament damage and could be deployed on either wing instead of Dwight McNeil or Jack Harrison.

The on-loan Villarreal player could be used as a striker with the question over who might lead the line still up in the air. Youssef Chermiti got the nod for his first Premier League start against Brentford but either Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Beto could return and as mentioned earlier, there’s even the wildcard option of Keane!