The Football Faithful
·9 January 2025
The Football Faithful
·9 January 2025
Everton begin their FA Cup campaign at home to Peterborough United on Thursday evening.
The clash has been moved to an earlier date due to both Merseyside teams being drawn at home this weekend, with Liverpool to host Accrington Stanley on Saturday lunchtime.
Sean Dyche is under pressure to impress new Everton owners, The Friedkin Group. The Toffees have won just one of their last 11 games and have struggled for goals this season. Everton have scored just once in their last five fixtures.
The visitors arrive amid a difficult season of their own in the third tier. After defeat in the play-offs last season, Peterborough find themselves 19th in League One. Darren Ferguson’s side have struggled to repeat last season’s performances following the summer exits of key names including Ronnie Edwards and Harrison Burrows.
Thursday’s clash could feature a father vs son matchup. 18-year-old Tyler Young, son of Everton defender Ashley, is part of the Peterborough squad.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a doubt for Everton after picking up an ankle issue in training. Beto could be given the nod at centre-forward with Armando Broja also injured after a bizarre incident saw him sustain a knock while kicking the floor at Bournemouth.
Dyche has confirmed that Dwight McNeil is not yet ready to return, while Seamus Coleman, Tim Iroegbunam and James Garner all remain in the treatment room. Harrison Armstrong could be handed a chance from the start after featuring for 45 minutes in the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth. The 17-year-old, who represents England at youth level, has made five senior appearances this season.
Everton predicted XI: Pickford; Patterson, Keane, O’Brien, Mykolenko; Doucoure, Mangala, Armstrong; Harrison, Ndiaye, Beto.
Everton host Peterborough in the FA Cup’s third round on Thursday 9th January 2024. Kick-off at Goodison Park is 7:45pm.
A UK audience can watch Everton v Peterborough for free via BBC iPlayer.