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Sean Dyche has confirmed he will make changes to his Everton line-up for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at home to Southampton (19:45 BST).
Both sides are yet to pick up any points from their opening four Premier League games and Dyche says changes will be made because cup games “are not as important as the Premier League”.
Speaking to the club’s official website, external, Dyche said: “There will be changes. We will get players minutes who do need match time back out there.
“The physical aspect of having three games in a week affects how we work this week, so the approach has to be slightly different to anything hugely physical because of the demand on the players those games will bring, especially because we are down in numbers in certain areas.
“I’ve spoken about it before, with all due respect to the cups because they are important but they’re not as important as the Premier League, the Premier League is vital.
“We are going to have to play certain players, who we maybe wouldn’t have wanted to play in a totally ideal scenario, because they need the minutes and we need them back and challenging for us.”
Deadline day signing Orel Mangala is one player who could come into the side with Dyche saying “he’s an international footballer so we want him to use that experience to our advantage”.
Dyche has also confirmed he will not be rushed into starting Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson – after both returned to full training last week.
“Fast-tracking players, in my experience, doesn’t end well, so we want to fast-track them but cleverly fast-track them – not just push them through games programmes they’re not capable of,” Dyche added.
“They need to come into the side when they’re fit, properly fit, because you can’t deliver performances in the Premier League unless you’re properly fit. I’ve experienced enough to know when you’ve short-tracked people into the team, they find it very difficult to find their form.”