Needing to restore a sense of pride after a dreadful start to Premier League proceedings, Everton host League Two Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup second round on Tuesday evening.
While the Toffees enter the competition at the second hurdle, their visitors have already conquered Salford City to earn a midweek trip to Goodison Park.
Match preview
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When the normally reliable Jordan Pickford makes a catastrophic mistake, it is evident that it is not going to be Everton's day, as Sean Dyche's meek men were ripped to shreds by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday for their second straight Premier League loss in 2024-25.
After shipping three at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day, Everton succumbed to a pair of goals from Son Heung-min - whose first saw him rob Pickford after a heavy touch from England's number one - as well as a Yves Bissouma rocket and Cristian Romero header.
All other 19 teams in the top flight are now looking down on Everton, whose head coach Dyche subsequently admitted after the game that the Toffees simply have "no money" to address their squad shortcomings, suggesting that another uphill fight to retain their perennial Premier League status is on the cards.
Everton have occasionally found solace in the EFL Cup, though, reaching the quarter-finals three times in the past five seasons, including in the 2023-24 campaign, where they were agonisingly denied a Merseyside derby semi-final as Fulham bested them on penalties.
Furthermore, not since the 2001-02 season have Everton gone out as early as the second round - coincidentally another penalty loss to a London side in Crystal Palace - although unlike the Premier League hosts, unfancied foes Doncaster at least possess that winning feeling this season.
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Making a positive start to their bid to end a three-year stay in the fourth tier, Doncaster Rovers boast a respectable six points from their first nine on offer in 2024-25, having thumped Accrington Stanley 4-1 first up before falling to Newport County's supremacy in a 3-1 loss.
Grant McCann's charges responded to that immediate setback in fine fashion with a one-goal triumph over Morecambe on Saturday, where a 20th-minute effort from new signing Harry Clifton was all that was required to sink the Shrimps at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Picking up where they left off towards the end of 2023-24, where an astonishing 10-game winning run preceded a heartbreaking semi-final playoff loss to Crewe Alexandra on penalties, Doncaster already have a 2-0 win over Salford City under their belts from this year's EFL Cup, where the veteran Billy Sharp was among the goals.
However, Doncaster have not progressed beyond the second round of the League Cup since the 2017-18 edition, where they reached the third stage before being beaten by Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, and their run last year coincidentally ended at the hands of none other than Everton.
On that day, McCann's men actually drew first blood at Keepmoat through Joe Ironside, only for Beto and Arnaut Danjuma to complete a late Toffees turnaround, and not since a Division Two clash in 1953 have Doncaster got the better of their top-flight opponents.
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Team News
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While James Tarkowski shook off an injury scare to man the backline at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Everton were still without a plethora of players, and none of Jarrad Branthwaite (groin), Nathan Patterson (thigh) or Chermiti (ankle) will be available here.
James Garner and Seamus Coleman are also touch-and-go with calf issues, but one positive arrives in the shape of Ashley Young's return from suspension; Dyche started 19-year-old Roman Dixon against Spurs with no other right-backs available.
Several alterations can be expected from Dyche, who ought to bring new signings Jesper Lindstrom, Jake O'Brien and Iliman Ndiaye into the starting lineup, as well as giving Joao Virginia a run-out in goal after Pickford's horror moment on Saturday.
As for Doncaster, McCann must cope without 39-year-old skipper Richard Wood for the next couple of months, as the centre-back has gone under the knife to treat an ankle injury he sustained in the Newport loss.
James Maxwell and Ben Close are keeping Wood company in the treatment room, but Doncaster came through their victory over Morecambe unscathed, and attacker Kyle Hurst was able to come off the bench after a calf concern.
After being taken off on the 63-minute mark against Morecambe, Sharp and his 38-year-old legs should be fine to go again from the first whistle here, although Ironside is a viable alternative up front.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Virginia; Dixon, Holgate, O'Brien, Mykolenko; Gueye, Armstrong; Harrison, Lindstrom, Ndiaye; Beto
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Sharman-Lowe; Sterry, Olowu, Anderson, Fleming; Kelly, Bailey; Gibson, Clifton, Yeboah; Sharp
We say: Everton 3-0 Doncaster Rovers
Rather than being condemned to a heavy defeat with no goals at the correct end of the pitch, Everton ought to make amends for their Premier League failures with their own emphatic triumph on Tuesday.
Last year's EFL Cup contest between these two clubs was a close-run affair, but in front of the Goodison crowd, we can only picture Dyche's men running out straightforward winners.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
