Tim Iroegbunam suspension compounds Everton’s midfield misery | OneFootball

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

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

However, Tim Iroegbunam entered the referee’s book for a late challenge on Antoine Semenyo midway through the first half. Although the 22-year-old managed to redeem himself with a fine defensive performance following the caution, he’ll miss the clash against Nottingham Forest after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

His absence weakens an already depleted engine room for the Toffees. Idrissa Gana Gueye will serve the last fixture of his three-game ban against Nottingham Forest while Merlin Rohl remains sidelined after a hernia operation recently.

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

If Keane can recover from his calf problem to make it to the lineup for the clash this weekend, it could ease the problem significantly. This would allow O’Brien to move to right-back and, accordingly, Garner and Dewsbury-Hall could start in the middle with Alcaraz playing in front of them.

However, if Keane remains sidelined, then Moyes has 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 Scottish international made it to the bench against Bournemouth after injury problems plagued the start to his season.

However, Patterson hasn’t seen a single minute of Premier League action this season and even when fully fit, he’s not exactly the most convincing option at the back. He also played 90 minutes in that infamous 5-1 loss to Bradford City in the EFL Cup for the U21s.

Starting with Patterson could leave Everton’s right flank pretty 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 either Jack Grealish or Iliman Ndiaye as the number 10. Moyes can also count on Tyler Dibling or Dwight McNeil to take either of their spot on the wing.

This option also has its downsides, as it leaves the Blues lacking defensive steel down the middle of the pitch. Both Dewsbury-Hall and Alcaraz are better known for their creative abilities and tendency to attack the box instead of their tackling or duelling.

Given a problem like this, it’s pretty clear that there’s no optimal solution and each comes with its own pros and cons.

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