Everton's men's team will look to bounce back from their first pre-season defeat when they face Hamburger SV today, after the women's side take on HSV-Frauen in the opening game of a double-header at the Volksparkstadion.
David Moyes' side lost 1-0 to Stoke City in their last friendly, with 19-year-old substitute Gabriel Kelly scoring the only goal with a long-range strike on the hour mark. That ended a winning start to pre-season which had brought victories over Dundee and Bolton.
Team news and predicted line-up
In the ECHO live blog, Connor O'Neill argued that the game against Hamburg represents a step up after back-to-back fixtures against Championship clubs. He picked out Jarrad Branthwaite as a player he would like to see return, saying it would be good to see him given as much game time as possible. He also called for Adam Aznou to be handed a start at left-back, while acknowledging what Vitalii Mykolenko can offer.
"One player I would like to see return is Jarrad Branthwaite," O'Neill wrote. "While it is understandable that the Blues are managing the defender's workload, it would be good to see him given as much gametime as possible this pre-season."
His preferred starting XI (4-2-3-1): Travers; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Aznou; Hackney, Rohl; Dibling, Dewsbury-Hall, George; Beto.
If Branthwaite does not feature, O'Neill suggested the defence could line up with Jake O'Brien at right-back and James Tarkowski and Michael Keane at centre-back.
Royal Blue column
Writing in his Royal Blue column, Chris Beesley reflected on the disappointment of missing out on European football, after Everton failed to win any of their last seven matches despite being three points off a Champions League place following a 3-0 victory over Chelsea on March 21. He found some consolation for travelling fans in the chance to experience classic German matchday atmospheres over the next two weekends.
Beesley recalled Everton's memorable 2-0 win at 1. FC Nurnberg in a UEFA Cup group game on November 8, 2007, a night that former midfielder Lee Carsley, now England Under-21s manager, still remembers. "I've been all over Europe with Everton and there's never been a whiff of trouble," Carsley said.
Joe Thomas will be at the Volksparkstadion, with Chris Beesley back at base, to bring all the best updates, analysis and reaction.
