View: Dyche has an Everton wildcard to play as XI announced v Chelsea

Sean Dyche has stuck by his side and made no changes in his confirmed line-up to face Chelsea in their Premier League clash.

This is the first game for the Blues under their new ownership following the completion of The Friedkin Group’s takeover on Thursday [19 December] and Dyche will be keen to show what he can do.

Everton confirmed the starting line-up via X [22 December], with no changes made to the starting line-up.

However, the boss has opted to name 20-year-old Youssef Chermiti on the bench for the first time this season after the young Portuguese hurt his foot before the season started.

The 20-year-old had an impressive pre-season but required surgery on the issue and has not yet made a first-team appearance, but his inclusion means Dyche has a wildcard on the bench against high-flying Chelsea.

Youssef Chermiti on the bench for Everton

This is an extremely tough test for the Toffees as they face a Chelsea side that are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions and have seriously impressed this term.

However, this means that Dyche and his men go into this game with minimal pressure placed upon them and therefore they should be looking to enjoy this game and show the new ownership what they have under their belts.

The fact that the boss has opted to give the 20-year-old striker his first appearance on the bench for this game may show that he is willing to try different things in this game with a lack of expectations on their shoulders.

There will no doubt be some pressure felt by the Blues boss as he knows his job may be hanging by a thread with his side sitting just three points above the relegation zone.

That being said, it would feel harsh if he was judged by a result against Chelsea on Sunday, providing they don’t find themselves walked all over in the game.

Being at Goodison Park will no doubt provide a good atmosphere for the occasion with supporters feeling they have something to be optimistic about going forward.

We saw the Toffees gain a point against Arsenal last weekend, so there is no reason they couldn’t pull off a surprise here too.

Regardless of whether he gets the call-up to pull on the shirt today, Chermiti will be delighted at being back involved with the squad and there is genuine optimism he could make a big difference to this Everton side.

In other Everton news, David Moyes has shared his relegation prediction that Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer agree with.

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