Crystal Palace vs Everton: Press Conference Summary
George Priestman reporting for LiverpoolWorld at Everton's training ground.
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00:00 This is George Preston for Liverpool World reporting in the aftermath of
00:02 Sean Dyche's press conference ahead of Evans' trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend.
00:07 Starting off with team news, Dyche reported there were a couple of knocks ahead of the game,
00:11 including Amadou Anana, who did miss out in the 1-0 draw with Brighton last week,
00:14 but he trained today and should be ready for the weekend.
00:17 The same goes for both Jared Brantway and Abdoulaye Douakoure.
00:20 Both have had small knocks and illness this week, but both trained today.
00:23 And again, both should be ready for the weekend's action.
00:25 In terms of long-term absentees coming back, Seamus Coleman is close to returning to a matchday
00:29 squad. Dyche confirmed that he played 65 minutes earlier in the week and he's now played twice for the under-21s.
00:35 And he is nearing a return, but it's unclear whether he can make the squad this weekend.
00:38 Both Dele Alli and Andre Gomez are both still some ways away from returning to the squad.
00:43 The under-21 game midweek gave a chance for players to get some viable minutes,
00:47 including the likes of Yusuf Schmidty, who scored the winner from the penalty spot,
00:51 and Lewis Dobbin, who hasn't featured for some time in the first team.
00:53 In terms of other news, Ben Goffey was mentioned as he has been scarcely linked with
00:57 and moved away after not really featuring so far this season.
01:00 Dyche confirmed that he's still very much in his plans and thinking.
01:02 And he's training very well at the moment and looking sharp and just waiting for his opportunity,
01:06 which is going to be tough to come by because the likes of Brantway, Tarkovsky,
01:09 Mikhalenko and Paterson are all in good form at the moment.
01:13 Another question Dyche was asked about was Abdoulaye Douakoure's decision to
01:16 not go to the African Cup of Nations in January to stay with Everton, having just signed a new deal.
01:21 Dyche claimed that Douakoure is old enough to make his own decisions and he will clearly be happy with
01:25 the decision as Douakoure has been an incredible player for him and no one has had more goals or
01:29 assists since Dyche's come into the club than Douakoure.
01:32 He was also pleased about the progress of Vitaly Mikhalenko, who he said had struggled with injuries
01:36 at the end of last season and the start of this season, but he said he's really enjoyed watching him play.
01:40 And he said that he's a modern, aggressive defender who loves to defend and he's really
01:45 impressed with his form at the moment. And he says he's still improving,
01:47 which is a positive for Everton at full-back.
01:49 Another player who's made great improvements this season is Amadou Onana.
01:52 According to the statistics this season, he ranks fourth in the Premier League,
01:56 four long balls completed behind Rodri, Thiago Silva and Moises Caicedo.
02:00 I asked Dyche about the improvements that he's made this season. He said that he's worked very hard
02:03 on his defensive positioning, as well as allowing him the freedom to express himself.
02:07 And what we've seen so far is an improved player, especially on a technical level,
02:10 as well as physical as well.
02:12 He's developed into a key player for Dyche at the base of their midfield and he allows the
02:15 likes of James Garner and Douakoure to express themselves and get further forward.
02:19 And it'll be a big factor if he can get back into the team this weekend after missing last weekend's game.
02:24 In terms of Palace, they've had a mixed set of results at the start of this season under Roy Hodgson.
02:28 They, of course, got the victory last weekend against Burnley in what was a hard-fought game.
02:31 And they've kept five clean sheets so far with Sam Johnston in great form between the sticks.
02:36 And, of course, Joachim Andersen and Mark Gaye proving to be one of the best centre-back
02:39 players in the Premier League at the moment.
02:40 And it will be tough for Everton to break them down, especially at Selhurst Park.
02:44 Last season, the two sides played out a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
02:47 And the last time Everton actually won away at Palace was in 2020 when Dominic Cavallone
02:51 and Richarlison gave Ancelotti's side a 2-1 victory back in 2020.
02:56 Dyche and his side will go there with confidence having won five in eight.
02:59 And Palace are definitely beatable as we've seen so far this season.
03:02 But it's going to be a tight game and perhaps a game of fine margins.
03:05 And I'm sure Everton fans will love to see them make it six wins out of nine games and
03:09 carry on what has been a strong run of form.