Everton vs Arsenal predicted XIs as £79m duo return for Gunners and summer signing dropped

Arsenal travel to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon to face an Everton side who are in desperate need of causing an upset. While the Gunners are unbeaten in the Premier League so far this season, the Toffees are yet to win a match, and have taken just one point from their opening four fixtures.

That point came in their last outing, a 2-2 draw against Sheffield United during which Sean Dyche’s men played well enough but still had to lean on the heroics of Jordan Pickford in the dying moments to avoid defeat. For their part, Mikel Arteta’s men also relied on late drama to see off Manchester United in a 3-1 victory, scoring twice in stoppage time to suckerpunch their bitter rivals.

But how will both sides line up when they meet on Merseyside this weekend? We’ve taken a look at the latest team news ahead of Everton vs Arsenal and made our best predictions at their respective starting XIs below...

Everton team news

Everton boast a relatively clean bill of health heading into Sunday’s fixture, but will be without a smattering of first team players. Dele Alli and Seamus Coleman both remain unavailable, and are likely to be out for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, summer signing Jack Harrison is expected back from a hip complaint at some point this month, but Arsenal’s visit might come a touch a too soon for the winger. Similarly, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is recovering from a facial injury, but was spotted in training last week, and could make his return in some capacity.

Jarrad Branthwaite pulled out of international duty with England’s U21s due to a groin issue recently, but is also expected to be in contention, while Andre Gomes, who has missed the Blues’ last three outings with a tight calf, could feature. Dwight McNeil is fit again after recovering from an ankle injury, but may struggle to displace Arnaut Danjuma in the starting XI.

Everton predicted XI

Jordan Pickford; Nathan Patterson, Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Ashley Young; James Garner, Idrissa Gueye, Andre Onana, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Arnaut Danjuma; Beto.

Arsenal team news

Arsenal suffered a scare during the international break when defender Gabriel Magalhaes limped off in the closing stages of his Brazil debut last week, and was later seen with an ice-pack on his thigh. The 25-year-old trained with the rest of his teammates as normal ahead of Tuesday’s qualifier against Peru, however, and went on to complete a full 90 minutes at the heart of defence in Lima, signalling his probable availability this weekend.

Elsewhere, Thomas Partey is likely to miss out on Sunday’s trip to Goodison Park. The 30-year-old sustained a groin injury at the end of August, and the Daily Mail claim that he may be sidelined until after the next international break in October.

Addressing Partey’s complaint in a recent press conference, Arteta said: “Unfortunately, he got injured in training. It doesn’t look good. I believe he’ll be out for a few weeks.”

In other news, summer signing Jurrien Timber remains a long-term absentee after suffering an ACL injury on the opening weekend, although Football.London report that the Dutch defender underwent successful surgery two weeks ago and has now entered the ‘recovery phase’ of his rehabilitation.

Mohammed Elneny is still sidelined with a knee issue of his own, and has yet to announce any kind of concrete return date as he continues his recovery.

The Gunners are otherwise injury-free, but Arteta faces big decisions over whether or not to include Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira ahead of Eddie Nketiah and Kai Havertz in his starting XI against the Toffees.

Arsenal predicted XI

Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Declan Rice, Fabio Vieira, Martin Odegaard; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli.