Everton will monitor the fitness of defender Yerry Mina right up to kick-off but Marco Silva is reluctant to rule him out of Sunday’s clash with Tottenham.
Mina, who was forced off against Watford in midweek because of an ongoing knee problem, appeared fine after the final whistle although Silva won’t want to take any undue risks with his team selection.
The Colombian has been a crucial part of Everton’s rearguard this term and the club only have three senior options in the position after failing to land Kurt Zouma on a permanent deal.
Mason Holgate stands by to partner Michae Keane against Spurs, while Brazilian winger Bernard is out after damaging knee ligaments last weekend.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin remains sidelined for the Toffees after suffering a setback in October.
Tottenham produced a devastating display to win 6-2 at Everton a year ago but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino says he would take any positive result going into Sunday’s meeting at Goodison Park.
His side’s 2-1 defeat on the other side of Stanley Park against table-toppers Liverpool left Tottenham in 11th place in the table and without an away league win since January.
Pochettino, who admits confidence in the camp is low, said: “We need to be positive, feel that positivity and make us believe that we can beat any team. “At the moment we struggle with our confidence, we drop a lot. That’s only time. The most important thing is how we’re going to finish, it’s not this moment. “(Last season) is a good memory but we want to win. Any result is going to be good for us.”
Danny Rose is suspended for the trip to Goodison Park, while central defender Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) and midfielder Erik Lamela (thigh) miss out through injury.
Midfielder Giovani Lo Celso could feature although Pochettino is concerned about his summer signing’s inclusion in the latest Argentina squad after he suffered an injury on international duty in September.
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