Everton will be hoping to maintain their challenge for Champions League qualification as they host Burnley at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Toffees will be hoping to return to winning ways following their disappointing 2-0 loss away to Chelsea dropped the side into sixth behind West Ham.
Meanwhile, Burnley will be hoping to turn around their winless run, with their last win coming in the 3-0 win against Crystal Palace.
There have been encouraging sides however, with The Clarets drawing against a Leicester side currently sitting third in the table, as well as Europa League quarter finalists Arsenal.
Despite those results, Burnley sit in 15th with ten games still to go, four points away from the relegation zone, with two teams below them still having games to play in Newcastle and Brighton.
In terms of team news, Carlo Ancelotti announced in his press conference that he is yet to decide whether Robin Olsen is available for the match after the player’s house was raided and his family was threatened with machetes.
Abdolaye Doucoure has been confirmed to be out for roughly the next eight weeks after suffering a small fracture in his foot, with James Rodríguez and Gylfi Sigurðsson both not expected to feature, although Yerry Mina is back available for the side.
Ancelotti commented on Rodríguez’s availability after his recent strong form but felt the player would benefit for a better rest.
“James has been in good form, he played really well against Man United, played well against Liverpool but he is not 100% and because we have a number of really important games at the end of the season, we decided to give him a proper recovery, and when he is 100% he will play again. The player agreed, of course he wants to play but it’s better for him to solve this problem and be ready for the end of the season.”
Dyche has confirmed that Charlie Taylor is unlikely to feature after he limped off during his sides 1-1 draw with Arsenal, with Ashley Barnes and Jack Cork also unavailable for selection.
During his pre-match press conference, Dyche praised his sides resilience since the start of the season as they continue to avoid the relegation zone.
“There’s been a lot of good work since game seven, we had a difficult start but the performance levels have improved and the consistency. We have to keep that up, there’s certainly places we want to do more but equally the lads have put in a shift and we have to continue doing that with the games coming up.”
Despite the work put in by his squad as of late, Dyche reflected on the home side’s quality and recognized the difficult game ahead of his team.
“You look at the players they have and it’s a good squad, the manager has added to that obviously, incredibly experienced manager that seems to be getting his way of play onto the players. They are a good outfit and I think nothing less than it will be a tough trip to get anything out of it.”
Ancelotti similarly was full of praise for Dyche, drawing similarities with Burnley’s style of play as the one he began his career with.
“They play clear 4-4-2. I was born in 4-4-2 with Sacchi, as a player and assistant. Burnley explain really well how to play it. Dyche is a good guy, we have spent time before games but not much more. I respect their style of play and I like it a lot because they are not inventing a new type of football, but they are playing it really well, since football was already invented a long time ago.”
With top four rivals Chelsea playing early on Saturday, and with West Ham and Spurs both playing on Sunday, a good result against Burnley will give Ancelotti’s side a massive boost as they approach the last ten games of their season.
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