Tim Iroegbunam’s suspension worsens Everton’s midfield woes

Lack of midfield options will be David Moyes’ biggest headache as Everton prepare to host Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The Blues returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. It was their first victory on the Dorset pitch in eight attempts and three crucial points on the road have seen the side climb into the top half of the standings.

However, Tim Iroegbunam found himself in the referee’s book midway through the first half for a late challenge on Antoine Semenyo. Although the 22-year-old redeemed himself after the warning with a fine defensive performance, he will miss the match against Nottingham Forest after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season.

His absence weakens the Toffees’ already depleted engine room. Idrissa Gana Gueye will serve the final game of his three-match suspension against Nottingham Forest, while Merlin Rohl has recently been sidelined following hernia surgery.

To make matters worse, Michael Keane’s injury further complicates matters. With Keane out, Jake O’Brien played at centre-back against Andoni Iraola’s side, forcing Everton’s only fit number 6, James Garner, to play at right-back. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is usually played at number 10, dropped deeper to partner Iroegbunam, while Charly Alcaraz took the position behind the striker instead.

If Keane can recover from his calf problem and make the line-up for this weekend’s clash, it could alleviate the problem considerably. This would allow O’Brien to move to right-back and accordingly Garner and Dewsbury-Hall could start in the middle with Alcaraz ahead of them.

However, if Keane remains sidelined, Moyes will have to get a little creative with his solutions.

One option is to pair Garner and Dewsbury-Hall in the middle and start with Nathan Patterson at right-back. The Scotland international made the bench against Bournemouth after injury problems plagued the start of his season.

However, Patterson has yet to see a single minute of Premier League action this season and even when fully fit, he isn’t exactly the most compelling option at the back. He also played 90 minutes in the infamous 5-1 defeat to Bradford City in the EFL Cup for the U21s.

Starting with Patterson, Everton’s right flank could be left quite exposed and the likes of Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi have the ability to hurt the Toffees from that side.

The second option is to keep Garner and O’Brien in the defensive line, pair Alcaraz and Dewsbury-Hall in the middle and start with Jack Grealish or Iliman Ndiaye as number 10. Moyes can also count on Tyler Dibling or Dwight McNeil to take one of their spots on the wing.

This option also has its disadvantages, because the Blues then no longer have defensive steel in the middle of the field. Both Dewsbury-Hall and Alcaraz are better known for their creative skills and tendency to attack the penalty area rather than their tackles or dueling.

Given a problem like this, it is quite clear that there is no optimal solution and each solution has its own advantages and disadvantages.

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