Sam Allardyce has said he will field Everton’s strongest side at Liverpool on Friday night despite not knowing what his best team is after nine games in charge.
The Everton manager has often rested players in the FA Cup third round but having been drawn against his new club’s fiercest rivals this season, accepts that is not an option for his second visit to Anfield inside four weeks. The defender Michael Keane is expected to miss out with a foot injury suffered against Manchester United on Monday but Cenk Tosun could feature, albeit only from the bench, should he complete a proposed £27m move from Besiktas in time.
“You can’t not go with your strongest side to Anfield,” said Allardyce, who has suffered back-to-back defeats against United and Bournemouth in the run-up to the 230th Merseyside derby. “We’ve had a few days’ rest and are getting ready to give it our all before getting back to the Premier League the following weekend.
“We want to pick the best team we can to compete against Liverpool but I can’t honestly tell you what my best team is just yet. Sometimes its looked like it but in other games it hasn’t looked quite right. There have been one or two glitches in the last few games that I didn’t expect and I need to iron out. We will pick the strongest team from what is available to me and give it our best shot.”
Everton’s ultra-defensive approach to the recent Premier League draw at Anfield was roundly criticised, not least by his Liverpool counterpart, Jürgen Klopp, and Allardyce admits improvement will be necessary to achieve a first win across Stanley Park since 1999.
He added: “While I was delighted we got a point at Anfield last time I wasn’t happy about the number of times we wasted our possession. The players have to deal with the possession they get much better on Friday to get more chances to get to the next round.”
Everton have until noon on Friday to register Tosun for the FA Cup tie. A fee rising to £27m has been agreed for the Turkey forward, who has still to complete a medical and finalise a four-and-a-half-year contract at Goodison Park.
Allardyce said: “There is going to be a massive pressure on him if we do clinch the signing that he is successful straight away, which I’m cautious about. But we can’t have researched any more and can’t have looked at the qualities of the player more, not just from a talent and goalscoring point of view but from the mentality side too.
“He’s a bit of an all-rounder. He has got some good movement, he’s two-footed, he’s not the biggest but he’s efficient in the air in the box. We will try to break him in gently but I don’t think you break anyone in gently in January transfer windows. It is more a case of sleeves rolled up and get on with it.”
