Everton

The worry for Everton is James Tarkowski is out for the season with the hamstring injury he sustained against Manchester City.

That is a massive blow for them at the back, because they did not look the same team defensively once he went off.

Everton are without striker Armando Broja too, because he is on loan from Chelsea and cannot face his parent club, but I feel like he has kind of been on trial in the past couple of games anyway.

David Moyes has been having a look at Broja, probably to weigh up whether or not to sign him permanently in the summer, but Everton are probably better off with Beto leading their attack.

He will be a threat running in behind when they try to break forward, and Abdoulaye Doucoure will get up there too in support.

They might get some joy here because while Chelsea are still in the mix for the top five after their fightback to beat Fulham, things are clearly still not right with them.

An element of their fans are just not having Enzo Maresca and his style of play, and it will be interesting to see how the Stamford Bridge crowd react if things don't go to plan on Saturday.

I am really not convinced by Chelsea's attack at the moment, especially with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson so out of form. Even with Tarkowski missing, they could struggle to break Everton down.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Chelsea (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Moyes confirmed that James Tarkowski is out for the remainder of the season and will have an operation on his hamstring. He added: "It's a big blow to us because Tarky plays such a huge part of what we've done and how we've done so well in this period." He thinks the defender will be back for the start of pre-season but admitted it could start to "eat into that".

• Moyes also confirmed Dominic Calvert-Lewin is close to returning to first-team training.

• On the prospect of using Jake O'Brien at centre-half he said: "I think Jake is a centre-half so I'm not worried about doing it, that's for sure. It's trying to get the right balance for the team. He has done a brilliant job at full-back so sometimes you've got your decision to make. Do you change two positions or one position? We've got Michael Keane available as well so we've got options and we'll look to play the options between now and the end of the season and find which works best for us."

• On Bramley-Moore Dock, he said: "My plan was that we'd go to the stadium and maybe do two or three training sessions as well - but they've gone and dug the pitch up. It looks as if I'm not going to get down to the new stadium at all at the moment, which I'm pretty disappointed in, to be honest." He said the modern player is used to playing at stadiums all over and that it is not something "completely strange" to them but "the point is to turn it into your home and feel comfortable and know your surroundings".

• He also praised their performances in recent games but admitted they're in for a difficult game against Chelsea: "Their home record is good and actually we've not got a great record going to Stamford Bridge over the years either, so from that point of view we know we're up for a tough game. Against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, I think we've done very well and this period of games has been a difficult one. I go in there with real confidence and belief that we can go and try to make something happen again."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

James Tarkowski is highly likely to miss Everton's trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday with the hamstring injury that forced him off in the loss against Manchester City last weekend.

Tarkowski is on the longest current run of consecutive Premier League appearances, so this injury will break that sequence.

He has been a huge influence in the Everton team throughout the season, and the numbers behind his campaign support this.

He has currently won the highest proportion of aerial duels (minimum 100 duels) of all players in the Premier League this season (74.64%) ahead of Virgil van Dijk (71.24%) and Dan Burn (67.03%).

Tarkwoski also ranks second in the league for number of clearances this season, (209), behind only Nottingham Forest's Murillo (213).

Ian Kennedy
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It perhaps went under the national radar slightly over the weekend, but results finally confirmed Everton were mathematically safe.

Of course they had been all but safe for weeks and it was never in real doubt, but worth a mention nevertheless.

What a brilliant job David Moyes has done - and his players too, who have stepped up in the second half of the season.

There is no disgrace in losing to Manchester City, but yet there was a tinge of disappointment after holding Arsenal and beating Nottingham Forest recently.

It is now all about the future - the goodbye to Goodison and the hello to the new stadium.

Exciting times ahead and a big summer in terms of contracts and recruitment.

But knowing Moyes, he will be putting a big importance on the remaining games of this campaign - starting with another tough one away at Chelsea.

It is another chance to gauge where Everton are and where they could be next season. Happily for them, it will definitely be in the Premier League.

Listen to Total Sport Merseyside from 18:00 on weeknights and find details here of live Everton match commentaries on BBC Radio Merseyside

Explore Everton content on BBC Sounds

Everton are interested in Feyenoord's Slovakia centre-back David Hancko, 27, but face competition from Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. (Tuttomercatoweb - in Italian, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Saturday's defeat by Manchester City highlighted how important the coming summer will be for Everton.

In control for large periods of the match, it took an injury to the ever-present James Tarkowski to seriously derail Everton's chances of picking up another three points.

Michael Keane's cameo was chaotic at best and emphasised to David Moyes that the rebuild required in making the squad competitive will not be easy.

Keane is one of 13 first-team players either out of contract or at the end of their loan agreement come July. Three of those players (Idrissa Gana Gueye, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Armando Broja) started on Saturday.

The hope is that Gana signs a new deal and assuming Doucoure is happy to take a wage cut, he will be a welcome squad player next season. The jury is certainly out on many others.

If Saturday was an audition for both Keane and Broja, they certainly would not be making the cut, with the latter in particular doing little to inspire the manager to make his loan deal permanent.

Keane's longstanding Everton career has never really got going. Reliant on those around him, his own confidence and decision-making has been regularly questioned. His introduction on Saturday epitomised the struggles he has had at the club.

Moyes will be eager to recruit players that are fit for our impressive new home, improving the quality and overall depth rather than simply padding it out.

As the move fast approaches, despite the improved financial position at the club the free and loan transfer markets will be vital.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Everton and Man City.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Alex: Part of me doesn't mind that we lost that match. Credit where credit is due, we were the better team for most of it, and showed great signs of where we could be next season. Let's remember the money Man City has and the value of their players. We held our own for most of the match. Sad to see the brilliant James Tarkowski injured though. Really good performance.

David: A disappointing result after such an improvement in recent weeks. However, this will give David Moyes a clearer picture of the major deficiencies we have in the squad when a key player such as Tarkowski goes off injured and we fall away in the final 20 minutes.

Gavin: Perfect chance to try out Jarrod Branthwaite and Jake O'Brien in central defencenothing to lose really, but Michael Keane got the nod when Tarkowski got injured and was once again a big disappointment.

Man City

Colin: Other than two set-pieces it is probably the most controlled we have been at the back. However, going forward needs to be much quicker as highlighted after Jeremy Doku came on. He injected pace and directness which created opportunities.

Gene: Nico O'Reilly may be an attacking midfielder, but he defends quite well. He's big, quick and doesn't get pushed around. It's going to be sad to see Kevin de Bruyne leave though as there's no one on this team with his vision and knack for finding the open man. They're still stagnant moving forward and there's not enough aggression. Overall the play is better, which hopefully continues towards the Champions League.

Andrew: Trust the academy. James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly are nailed on as part of the senior squad. Plenty more behind plus get a couple back; James Trafford has to be top of the list in summer as Ederson and Stefan Ortega will not improve from here. Then your 'rebuild' is more than half done. Vitor Reis and Claudio Echeverri still settling. All is good!

Everton will allow 32-year-old centre-back Michael Keane to leave the club when his contract runs out at the end of June. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Everton boss David Moyes talking to Sky Sports: "I thought for 60 minutes we did a lot of good things. I thought we played well in the first half but the injury to James Tarkowski was a big blow to us. It affected the side. It tells you a lot that we're disappointed that we've lost to Manchester City. Ultimately we didn't do well enough in the last 15-20 minutes and that cost us.

"I don't think the players we brought on today made a big impact on the game like I hoped it would have. It is always going to be difficult against Manchester City. We did a lot of good things. We're just lacking that little bit to be really competitive. We just couldn't find a way today.

"It is probably quality. Their subs came on and helped them. I'm not sure we had the same. We needed to find a way to get a goal but I genuinely think the injury to James Tarkowski was a big blow to us. It looks like a hamstring injury but what it is we don't know at the moment.

"We've done an awful lot of good things and we're getting better. It says a lot that we're disappointed to lose 2-0 against Manchester City. I'm sort of smiling that people think we should be disappointed. I am, but we've got to remember how good a side they are."

Image source, Getty Images

No side has failed to score in more Premier League games than Everton this season (14 – level with Leicester).

Were you at the game or following elsewhere?

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Brentford v Brighton

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Everton v Manchester City

• West Ham v Southampton

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:30 BST)

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

I am at this game for BBC Radio 5 Live and am looking forward to it. It is so hard to call, because of where both teams are at.

Everton will work hard, of course, but they are also very capable of winning this if they are as "in your face" as they can be, and upset City's rhythm.

If Pep Guardiola's side play like they did against Nottingham Forest a few weeks ago, and don't really get going, then they are going to get turned over.

On the other hand, City really caught fire after almost going 3-0 down against Palace last week. If they play like that, they will win - but you are never quite sure what you are going to get from them in each half at the moment, let alone game to game.

So, it is hard to know how the game will pan out. Everton will not be overly expansive or bothered about possession and will pick their moments when they throw Abdoulaye Doucoure forward.

They will be direct and Beto will run in behind, and I definitely see them scoring, but I am still going with City to edge this, somehow. They have to, really, because they are under pressure to make the top five.

I held the record for the fastest goal scored at Goodison in its 133-year history until Doucoure scored after 10.18 seconds against Leicester in February, beating my effort for Blackburn after 12.94 seconds in 1995.

That's still the fastest goal scored there by an away player, though, so hopefully no-one manages a quicker one before the end of the season - especially when I am there to talk about it as co-commentator.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport multi-platform journalist

Image source, Getty Images

As Everton prepare for the first of their final three games at Goodison Park, we have delved into some of the stats behind the Toffees rollercoaster season so far.

True to style, Everton have been the team most reliant on set-piece goals this season with 15 of their 34 goals coming from dead ball situations.

Since David Moyes returned for a second spell in charge in January, Everton's attacking metrics have overall increased while they have shored up defensively.

In fact - as the table above shows - since mid-September Everton boast the best defence in the Premier League based on goals conceded.

Despite their increase in attacking output, however, the goalkeeper they will likely face in Saturday's visit of Manchester City, Ederson, has recorded more assists this season than any members of Everton's squad.

Image source, Getty Images

The Blue Room podcast's David Downie shared his thoughts on Everton's final game at Goodison Park being scheduled for 12:00 BST. Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside, he echoed an angry reaction to the kick-off time from fans, stating: "It's an absolute joke. I certainly don't hope the club aren't involved in this. 12pm on Sunday - not for me.

"I think most of us would have liked it under lights, which would be a Monday night - maybe Friday night or even a Saturday night with the way they do it these days.

"I can't stand early kick-offs on any day across the weekend. It doesn't have that feeling for me.

"If it was a night game, people would be there overnight, getting all the various things they want to get.

"I just hope Goodison gets the send off it deserves - and 12pm on a Sunday certainly goes against that."

Image source, PA Media

Such has been the turnaround at Everton since David Moyes took charge of the Toffees in January, he is looking up the Premier League table rather than nervously towards the relegation zone with six matches left to play.

Everton - currently 13th in the table - need two more points to be mathematically certain of avoiding the drop, while there is a five-point gap to Brentford in 11th and Crystal Palace in 12th.

Speaking before Saturday's game against Manchester City, Moyes said: "If you'd said to me that we were avoiding relegation when I came in I'd have said: 'Thanks very much, that's the job I'm here to do at the moment'.

"But it feels like I want to try to look up, I want to make the club feel better, I want us all to start to feel better.

"It's been magnificent with the supporters at the moment, they're joining in, they're helping us. And I think the team's giving them something to shout about as well."

Everton are set to rival Inter Milan for the signing of Genoa's 27-year-old Iceland midfielder Albert Gudmundsson, who is on loan at Fiorentina. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media about the futures of the Toffees players whose contracts run out in the summer, including Abdoulaye Doucoure.

He also discussed the form of midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who is on loan at Derby, and whether he could be part of his first-team plans next season.