Marco Silva pleased with Everton selection 'headache' for Brighton
Thursday 24 October 2019 14:46, UK
Everton manager Marco Silva says he is pleased to face a "good headache" over his team selection for Saturday's trip to Brighton.
Silva made a series of changes last weekend as Everton ended a four-match losing streak in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over West Ham, but now must decide whether to stick with the same XI that started at Goodison Park.
Among the decisions facing Silva are whether to retain Djibril Sidibe, who impressed in place of the suspended captain Seamus Coleman at right-back, and whether to restore Gylfi Sigurdsson, who responded to being dropped by coming off the bench to score a stunning goal to seal the win.
"Good headaches are what I want and when this happens, when we achieve good results, when players get their chance and they perform well and help the team, it's a very good thing for me as a coach," Silva said.
"I like to have this type of headache. That means the players on the bench have the quality to play. They are working hard to play.
"It means the players that are playing did a good performance as well, as was the situation against West Ham. It's a very good headache for me. It's what I like. It's up to them to keep working.
"It was a good week again, a good competition between them, and it's up to me decide on Saturday what will be the best XI."
Also available again after returning from injury are central midfielders Fabian Delph and Morgan Schneiderlin, who could challenge Tom Davies for his starting place.
Silva must also decide whether to stick with Richarlison up front, with strikers Moise Kean and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also in contention to lead the line at Brighton, who 15th-placed Everton are just one point and place above in the table.
One decision the Portuguese was sure of was that Mason Holgate will replace Yerry Mina at centre-back if the Colombian fails to recover from a knee injury.
"He's ready, he's prepared. He shows to me every single day that he's working hard to achieve and to get his chance," Silva said of Holgate.
I'm 100 per cent sure if he has the chance he will be ready to perform at his level, because we believe in him."
