George Priestman of Liverpool World previews the Everton vs Brentford Premier League clash live from Finch Farm.
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00:00This is George Priest from Fort Liverpool World reporting after John Dyches has spoken
00:04to the media, which is us, ahead of the home game against Brentford this weekend at Goodison
00:08Park.
00:09Evans' form has been mixed across the last six or seven games. They drew Neil Neil with
00:12West Ham before the international break, but they did lose to Southampton before that,
00:16which ended a five-game unbeaten run, so they'll be hoping to get back to winning ways or at
00:20least get a point on the board ahead of a very tough run of games in December.
00:24Starting off with team news, he confirmed that Dwight McNeil has been positive in training
00:29across the last week. He's trained really well and he's looking sharp ahead of the weekend
00:32and he should return to the side, which is a huge boost for Everton, given that he has
00:35been arguably their best player this season.
00:38Of course, the name that fans all want to hear about is Jared Van Dijk, whether he will
00:41be available. From what Dyches said, he said that he trained well today and that he's feeling
00:45positive ahead of the weekend. And he did talk about the fact that he is such a key
00:49player and has outstanding qualities. And of course, Everton's win percentage with him
00:53in the side compared to without him in the side is hugely different. So they'll be hoping
00:57that he can start this weekend as he is one of their, if not best players in their team.
01:03Of course, there are plenty of absentees for the weekend. They include James Garner, Tim
01:06Iribudenu, Yusuf Schimitty, Seamus Coleman once again, and Armando Brugge. But he did
01:12confirm that Brugge is close to returning to action. He has been training across the
01:17last week because it has been international break, but they're looking for him to get
01:20minutes in the under-21s when and if he can do.
01:25There's a game on Monday night, which you can see him featuring that. So it's all about
01:28him getting minutes before he can be added into that matchday squad and actually affect
01:32games off the bench.
01:34One thing that was important from the press conference was that Dyches asked about the
01:38upcoming transfer, whether Everton will have any scope to bring players in. Of course,
01:42he spoke about the idea of their squad being a little bit light. So when they do have a
01:46few injuries, it looks even lighter. When everyone is fit, there is a fairly strong
01:51squad there overall. They have players across multiple positions. But there is an issue
01:56that there is a lack of quality, especially at the top end of the pitch. And with the
02:00frequent goop takeovers still up in the air waiting for Premier League approval, if that
02:04can be confirmed before the January window, then we might be able to see some sort of
02:10business done, which Dyches did reflect on as well. He said if they come in, then things
02:14could change. But as for now, they're acting sensibly in terms of their financial state.
02:19Will Beto start over Dominic Cavallone?
02:35Beto has been limited to only a handful of substitute appearances and no starts so far.
02:40He was really strong off the bench against Southampton, running players ragged, nearly
02:45causing a red card. He's shown to be a lively figure off the bench. He even got the equaliser
02:52against Fulham, of course. But his minutes have been really limited and fans do want
02:56to see him start. And Dyches confirmed that he's still someone who is very much learning
03:00how to work within the Premier League in terms of his all-round game. And I think that is
03:04something that rings true. He was someone who was playing at a low level four or five
03:08years ago, very low level compared to what he is now. And he's a big step up, but he
03:12has great physical qualities and he's shown that he's very hungry to impress. And off
03:16the bench might be the best option for now. And clearly, Dyches agrees with that as well.
03:20He did claim that he's someone who struggled against West Ham off the bench, but he played
03:25really well against Southampton. So there's that consistency issue there. So I think that's
03:29what we're going to see. For the foreseeable future at least, Beto will probably have to
03:33settle for coming off the bench rather than starting, even though fans are crying out
03:38to see a change.
03:39In terms of their opposition this weekend, they actually did the double over them last
03:43year. They produced two fine victories. And with Thomas Frank's side being involved in
03:49a lot of high-scoring games where they've actually conceded 10 goals across those five
03:52games, an average of two a game is very high. And over the course of that isn't very sustainable
03:58over the course of a long period. So it makes sense that there will be chances for Everton
04:02this weekend. They have plenty of doubts as well. Brentford next to the likes of Brian
04:05Mbrembo, Johan Wisse, Ethan Pinnock. These are key players who might not be available.
04:10They've been injured across the international break. So it remains to be seen whether they'll
04:14actually be able to start. If they aren't available, Everton will definitely fancy their
04:18chances of getting back to winning ways in front of the goodest and faithful.