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Preview: Everton vs. Swansea City

Sports Mole previews the clash between Everton and Swansea at Goodison Park as the Welsh outfit bid to beat the Toffees for the first time ever in the league.

Garry Monk will hope to have Federicio Fernandez available for Swansea City's second game on Merseyside this week when they visit Everton on Saturday.

The Spanish defender was sent off for a tackle on Philippe Coutinho in the 2-1 Capital One Cup defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday.

Dejan Lovren scored the winner after Fernandez's 92nd-minute dismissal to send the Reds through to the quarter-finals, but Monk promised to appeal the red card as he again cursed apparent refereeing injustices.

The Premier League's youngest manager described the award of a penalty against them in the 2-1 loss to Stoke City earlier this month as "disgusting", but was cleared by the FA this week. He will meet with referees chief Mike Riley on Friday to discuss bad decisions by officials.

It was not Monk, but Wilfried Bony who took the headlines last weekend as he scored both in a 2-0 success over Leicester City which ended Swansea's run of five top-flight games without a win.

While Roberto Martinez watches his former club struggle to match their early-season standards, he is slowly guiding Everton up the table thanks to contributions from both his most youthful and most senior players.

Great English hope Ross Barkley returned from injury to inspire their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, while veteran striker Samuel Eto'o scored twice in the 3-1 win at Burnley at Turf Moor.

The result lifted the Toffees, who had a midweek off courtesy of their third-round defeat to Swansea, into the top half and to within two points of the Welsh side ahead of their meeting at Goodison Park.

Having been rested for the trips to Lille and Burnley, Barkley could be restored to the starting lineup, although Eto'o's recent brace and Steven Naismith's 2014 form mean that there is great competition for places.

Romelu Lukaku is expected to shake off a knock to continue as the spearhead of the attack, but another injury blow to Darron Gibson rules him out along with Kevin Mirallas, John Stones, Arouna Kone and Bryan Oviedo.

Should Fernandez's suspension be upheld, Kyle Bartley will deputise at centre-half, with alternative Jordi Amat sidelined. Monk is also sweating on Gylfi Sigurdsson's participation after the midfielder, who is the leading provider of goals in the division, missed the midweek defeat with a groin strain.

Gerhard Tremmel, Jay Fulton, Bafetimbi Gomis and goalscorer Marvin Emnes are likely to drop out of the League Cup team, with Nathan Dyer and Jefferson Montero fighting for a place on the wing.

Everton have scored at least twice in their last 10 Premier League home games, and have never lost a league match to the Swans.

Recent form

Everton: WDWLDD

Swansea: LWLDDW

Possible starting lineups

Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Alcaraz, Baines; Barry, McCarthy; Naismith, Barkley, Eto'o; Lukaku

Swansea: Fabianski; Rangel, Williams, Fernandez, Taylor; Shelvey, Ki; Dyer, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Bony

Sports Mole says: 2-1


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Swansea player Nathan Dyer celebrates after opening the scoring during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion at Liberty Stadium on August 30, 2014
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