David Moyes’ ruthless victory machine rolls into
Elland Road tonight for a Capital One Cup third round tie against Leeds United.
Leeds, now managed by Neil Warnock and his
ill-fitting tracksuit bottoms, sit eleventh in the Championship after seven
games, and will be in high spirits following a 2-1 win over previously undefeated
Nottingham Forest last Saturday.
The biggest threat to Everton’s chances of getting
their name in the hat for the next round comes in the shape of in-form striker
Luciano Becchio – who doesn’t look even remotely South American – making this a
decent test for Shane Duffy if Moyes decides to give the young Irishman a
chance at centre half.
Along with perennially over-weight goalkeeper Paddy
Kenny and his former Sheffield United teammate Michael Tongue, Evertonians will also recognise paragon of evil El Hadji Diouf, of hilarious £9m transfer to
Liverpool fame, lining up for a Leeds side that has only made it past the third
round of this competition once in the last decade. Diouf is 31 now, so this
could be your last opportunity to hurl abuse at and be spat on by one of the
great pantomime villains of the 00s.
Moyes has never really been the type to rest players
for cup fixtures, but with Everton looking capable of at least challenging for
a Champions League spot for the first time in several years he may decide to
change things round a bit more than usual. It helps that there are now more
than a few good/promising players waiting for their chance to impress the
manager, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see six or seven changes to the team
that performed fantastically throughout long periods of Saturday’s 3-0 win at
Swansea.
Summer signings Steven Naismith and Brian Oviedo
will likely be given starts, and League Cup stalwarts Jan Mucha,
Seamus Coleman and Magaye Gueye will all be in contention. Nikica Jelavic is available again after
overcoming the injury sustained when he collided with a goalpost against
Newcastle, but I imagine Victor Anichebe will be rewarded for his goals in back
to back games by keeping his place in the starting XI.
Obviously Everton need to show Leeds enough respect to
avoid providing them with an opportunity for an upset, but they should also look
at this as another chance to show they’ve developed into a team to be feared. If
the Blues get at them early, and silence the rowdy Yorkshire bumpkins that’ll
doubtless be right up for it, a third away win of the season is well within
their grasp.
Possible XI: Mucha; Coleman, Duffy, Distin, Oviedo;
Osman, Neville, Mirallas, Naismith, Gueye; Anichebe.
