Everton vs Huddersfield
Venue: Goodison Park
Kick off: 4PM
Sam Allardyce will take charge of Everton for the first time when they host Huddersfield this afternoon.
The 63-year-old was confirmed as the new Toffees manager on Thursday, having been in attendance at Goodison Park for Wednesday night’s 4-0 victory over West Ham.
That win was only Everton’s second in the last month as, under Ronald Koeman and then David Unsworth, they slid towards the Premier League relegation zone.
However, they are now five points from the bottom three, and Allardyce is looking upwards rather than down.
“Obviously the club has gone through a difficult spell and hopefully I can put that behind us as quickly as possible and start looking upwards again,” he said.
Tim Sherwood and Danny Higginbotham were in agreement on The Debate that Everton is the biggest club that Sam Allardyce has managed
“Because, ultimately, it’s the ambition of the club, the ambition of the owner and the board, allied to the fact that it’s Everton and all the fantastic history, which have proved to be key for me.”
Huddersfield have struggled away from home in the Premier League this season, losing every away game without scoring since the opening day win at Crystal Palace. They were beaten 5-0 by Arsenal in midweek.
Oumar Niasse and Michael Keane will be available for selection for Everton. Niasse is back after becoming the first Premier League player to be banned for deceiving a referee, while Keane is fit again.
Leighton Baines is not ready to join them, meaning another outing for Mason Holgate at left-back.
Huddersfield has no new injury worries to contend with and Laurent Depoitre and Tom Ince may both feature after missing out in midweek.
Meanwhile, midfielder Kasey Palmer could also return, although Michael Hefele, Jon Stankovic and Philip Billing are all still out injured.
Everton and Huddersfield will be meeting in league competition for the first time since April 1972, with both sides drawing blanks in a clash at Leeds Road.
Everton last hosted Huddersfield as recently as August 2010 in the League Cup, with the Toffees running out 5-1 winners in a second-round clash.
Everton possible XI: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Keane, Martina, Gueye, Lennon, Davies, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Niasse.
Huddersfield possible XI: Loessi, Smith, Joergensen, Schindler, Malone, Hogg, Williams, Kachunga, Mooy, Ince, Mounie.