Everton could be reduced to just 15 senior players for Thursday night's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, as David Moyes waits on the fitness of several key men.
While Matthias Jaissle's side bounced back from consecutive defeats with Sunday's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, the Toffees followed a 2-0 home loss to Chelsea with the same result at champions Arsenal.
The two sides meet on Merseyside in the cup on Thursday night, before facing each other again at St James' Park in Monday evening's Premier League fixture.
Defensive concerns mount
Jarrad Branthwaite and Jack Grealish were absent from Saturday's defeat at Arsenal, through concussion and illness respectively, and Vitalii Mykolenko joined them on the treatment table after suffering a second-half knock, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Should Branthwaite and Mykolenko be ruled out against Newcastle, Everton's defensive resources are extremely scarce. Midfielders James Garner and Merlin Rohl could fill in at full-back, as they ultimately did against Arsenal, while Jake O'Brien could shift from central defence to the right flank, with Michael Keane slotting into the heart of the backline.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, omitted against the Gunners, his former employers, could feature at either right-back or left-back. However, the defensive set-up could appear decidedly patched together.
Midfield and attacking options
Should Garner and Rohl occupy the full-back berths, that would create an opportunity for Hayden Hackney, impressive as a substitute at the weekend, to feature in midfield alongside Harrison Armstrong and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Moyes would prefer to utilise Christian Norgaard, but his brief appearance against Chelsea the weekend before last indicates the summer arrival requires careful integration rather than being thrust straight in.
Even if Grealish stays unavailable, Moyes possesses alternatives out wide. Tyrique George proved one of the few positive performers against Arsenal and looks almost guaranteed to feature on Thursday, but Brennan Johnson endured a difficult outing and must be facing competition for his position from Tyler Dibling.
Striking options limited
Thierno Barry remains the club's only senior centre-forward, with Mykolenko and Maitland-Niles representing the squad's sole natural options at left-back and right-back respectively. There seems little prospect of Barry being rested against Newcastle, although the largely unused Charly Alcaraz could provide an alternative option in attack, as might Johnson.
