Everton were impressive during their 4-1 Europa League victory over Wolfsburg on matchday one, but it appeared to come at a cost domestically. Following their outing against the Germans, they were defeated 3-2 by Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
That will no doubt be weighing on Roberto Martinez's mind and may be reflected in the players that he puts onto the pitch against Russian side FC Krasnodar on Thursday evening.
With that in mind, Martinez could give opportunities to the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Darron Gibson, Leon Osman and Antolin Alcaraz to feature from the beginning. With those players potentially coming into the team, veterans Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry may be rested, while Steven Pienaar, Seamus Coleman, Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley are all injured.
Meanwhile, the hosts are expected to start with experienced centre-back Andreas Granqvist, who once played for Wigan Athletic.
The Toffees have only faced Russian opposition on one previous occasion when they overcame Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 on Merseyside in 2007 courtesy of a late strike from Tim Cahill.
During the opening round of group fixtures, Krasnodar, making their European debut, drew 1-1 with Ligue 1 outfit Lille.
Recent form
Krasnodar: LLDWWW
Everton: WWWLLD
Possible starting lineups
Krasnodar: Dikan; Kaleshin, Granqvist, Sigurdsson, Jędrzejczyk; Izmailov, Akhmedov, Joaozinho, Pereyra; Gazinskiy, Wanderson
Everton: Howard; Browning, Stones, Alcaraz, Baines; McCarthy, Gibson; Osman, McGeady, Lukaku; Eto'o
Sports Mole says: 1-1
Liam Apicella
