Chris Beesley - Allan returns in the engine room
It seems as though 3-4-3 is Frank Lampard's formation of choice but while that tactic gives him an additional centre-back, it leaves Everton overrun in the centre of the park where they're crying out for an extra body.
Such a set-up also deploys natural full-backs further up the pitch than they would normally be.
Therefore for this 'must-win' game against Newcastle United (certainly a must-not-lose at the very least), I'd go with a 4-3-3.
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With Jonjoe Kenny suspended after his sending off against Wolverhampton Wanderers, I'd switch to a flat-back four, but with another game on Sunday to come, I'd rest 33-year-old captain Seamus Coleman and give Nathan Patterson a first Premier League start at right-back.
Allan returns in the engine room to help provide a shield in front of the defence and hopefully enable Abdoulaye Doucoure and Donny van de Beek to push forwards more.
My team (4-3-3): Pickford; Patterson, Holgate, Godfrey, Mykolenko; Allan, Doucoure, Van de Beek; Gordon, Richarlison, Gray.
Connor O'Neill - Patterson to come in and three in midfield
Another game, another selection dilemma for Frank Lampard.
So far during his Everton reign, the Blues boss has opted to switch formations and personnel on an almost weekly basis. And more changes are expected tonight.
However, it is vital that Everton play with a midfield three against Eddie Howe’s side. Two in the middle of the park simply doesn't work for the Blues.
Jordan Pickford will no doubt start in goal, while at the back, Nathan Patterson should come in at right-back, with Vitaliy Mykolenko at left-back, and Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey partnering each other in the middle of defence.
Allan should also come back in and partner Abdoulaye Doucoure and Donny van de Beek in the middle, with Anthony Gordon on one wing and Demarai Gray on the other.
And even though Dominic Calvert-Lewin could return, I would still stick Richarlison up top in place of the England international. Calvert-Lewin has looked well off the pace in recent weeks and could be more of an option coming on as a substitute instead of starting.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Godfrey, Mykolenko; Allan, Doucoure; Gordon, Van de Beek, Gray; Richarlison.
Paul Wheelock - Biggest team selection in some time
This is the biggest team selection in some time for an Everton manager. Frank Lampard has to get it right - and the players picked have to perform.
Fifteen defeats in the past 19 Premier League matches tell its own story but it was only in the moments after the final whistle on Sunday that it horribly hit home - Everton, at this rate, are going down.
Hopefully it's hit home with the players, too, and the club's long-suffering supporters get the reaction that is desperately needed this evening.
Changes, following the dispiriting defeat to Wolves, will be called for, and Lampard is likely to make them, but bar from Anthony Gordon, this isn't the time for youngsters. So there's no Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko in my back four with Ben Godfrey playing at left-back, Seamus Coleman at right-back, and Michael Keane back in the centre alongside Mason Holgate.
Allan returns in midfield, alongside Donny van de Beek and Abdoulaye Doucoure, who both badly struggled against Wolves, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, if over his illness, comes back in up front, flanked by Gordon and Richarlison.
My team (4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Godfrey; Allan, Doucoure, Van de Beek; Gordon, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
