Toffees Face Man City With Moyes Set to Have Selection Headache

Everton travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City with the Blues' newest marquee signing, Jack Grealish, banned for this fixture.

Due to Jack Grealish's parent club being Manchester City, and under a contractual ruling that is agreed between both teams when a loan deal is being signed, the player is unavailable to play. A common misconception is that it is a Premier League ruling that disapproves every opportunity for players to face their parent club; however, it is truly within the contract of the deal and is negotiable, but normally clubs proceed with the clause.

It is no secret Grealish has played a huge role so far in Everton’s season, with the Englishman’s most incredible performance coming last time out against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

When Oliver Glasner’s side visited Bramley Moore Dock, Palace were 19 games unbeaten, with confidence being polar opposites between both sides due to the fact the Blues had not won a game in 36 days, including defeats in the Merseyside Derby and an embarrassing loss to Wolves in the first round of the Carabao Cup, 2-0, as well as a home draw versus West Ham. Although a new manager bounce would’ve supported the Hammers, the game was there to win, with Moyes stating that he was “disappointed we didn’t take all three points. It’s a home game, an opportunity for us. We had moments where we should have pressed the button a bit more and got the second half.”

However, despite the unbeaten streak, Everton managed to come out victorious, winning 2-1, with a late goal from Jack Grealish giving the Toffees the 3 points on the day and sparking some controversy on X! The Crystal Palace’s admin, in their bio on X, had “19 games unbeaten.” Swiftly after the defeat, it was changed, and so was Everton’s, to “Grealish for England”. If the 30-year-old’s recent performances are anything to go by, the Englishman should, for sure, be in contention for the national team squad. So far this season, Grealish has picked up four assists (and a goal, of course) in seven Premier League appearances, a very impressive start to life on Merseyside.

Unfortunately though, we can’t forget Grealish is unavailable to feature, meaning Moyes may have to craft some magic on who plays where for this clash. You would expect one of Everton’s signings this summer, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, to come straight back into the side. The question is of the attacking sector of the starting eleven. Will Carlos Alcaraz start? What about Tyler Dibling? Surely, Ndiaye will start the game from the off, and Beto over Thierno Barry, but the question of the wingers and attacking midfielder is set to be answered and will be revealed when the starting lineup is revealed an hour before kickoff on Saturday.

What we know so far is that Jarrad Branthwaite, Merlin Rohl and Nathan Patterson are to miss out. Branthwaite and Rohl are reportedly back on the grass, included in first-team training, but according to Moyes, Nathan Patterson “picked up an injury for the Under-21s in midweek, so we've got bits and pieces going on, but all the clubs will be the same.” Also, some good news coming out of the Everton camp over the international break is that both Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski have committed their time to Everton for the next few years! David Moyes has explained in his pre-match press conference with the media that ”I’m really pleased. It's good news we got Jordan and James Tarkowski signed, and Jarrad in the summer as well. I’m pleased. I think there have been three players who have made a big difference to the team; certainly since I came in, I think they've done a good job. I had (Pickford) at Sunderland, and I always thought he was going to be a top goalkeeper. He was very, very good as a young goalkeeper, and he's continued to develop throughout his career."

For the opposition, Pep Guardiola has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Manchester City will be without Rodri following an injury that forced the Spaniard off the pitch in just the 22nd minute of play, a setback during an extremely challenging period for the 29-year-old following the significant knee ligament and meniscus injury Rodri suffered in September 2024, also against Brentford, with it seeming like the midfielder has bad luck against the Bees. Finally, Pep revealed that the trio of Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdukodir Khusanov face late fitness checks before the game.

---

Thank you for reaidng my pre-match article!