Thursday November 23 (20:05 GMT), Goodison Park, LIVE on BT Sport 2
Everton are set to make a series of changes for their Europa League dead rubber against Atalanta on Thursday, with Davy Klaassen and Wayne Rooney among those pushing for a recall.
The Toffees are bottom of Group E having taken just one point from 12, and could well use the midweek match against the Serie A side to rotate their squad ahead of Sunday's all-important Premier League trip to Southampton.
Group leaders Atalanta, however, will come to Merseyside with a full-strength side- and looking to secure three points in their quest to pip Lyon to first place.
La Dea currently sit in 12th place in Serie A following a 2-0 away defeat to Inter over the weekend, but in Argentine international Alejandro Gomez and Italy prospect Mattia Caldara, boast a number of players capable of troubling their misfiring hosts.
Team news
David Unsworth's men were boosted by the return to first-team training of Yannick Bolasie on Wednesday following long-term injury, but the Congolese international is still considered to be weeks away from selection.
Fellow long-term absentees Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori remain on the sidelines, while James McCarthy, Phil Jagielka, Mason Holgate will also miss the match through injury. Top scorer Oumar Niasse, banned for the Premier League games against Southampton and West Ham, is ineligible for the tie after being left out of the Toffees' Europa League squad at the start of the campaign.
The lengthy list of absentees opens the door for a number of players who have been on the fringes of the action in recent weeks. Under-23 captain Morgan Feeney, Nikola Vlasic and Davy Klaassen all trained with the first-team squad ahead of the encounter, while Wayne Rooney is another pushing for a recall. If selected, promising central defender Feeney will make his Everton first-team debut.
Visitors Atalanta head to Goodison Park with a relatively clean bill of health. Indeed, wing-back Leonardo Spinazzola is the only regular starter expected to miss the clash in L4.
Gian Piero Gasperini's team should line up in their usual 3-4-1-2 formation, with danger men 'Papu' Gomez and Andrea Petagna leading the line and ex-Middlesbrough midfielder Marten de Roon providing the legs in the centre of the park.
Ones to watch
Davy Klaassen
Bought for £24m on the basis of strong performances for Ajax in both the Eredivise and the Europa League, Klaassen has flopped at Goodison to such an extent that he is yet to feature at all under caretaker manager Unsworth.
With Everton already out of Europe and almost certain to be prioritising this weekend's game with Southampton, though, the under-fire Dutchman could be afforded another opportunity to state his credentials on Thursday evening.
Short of pace and power, it may well be that Klaassen's technical proficiency and clever movement is better suited to the European stage than the Premier League at this moment in time. To stand any chance of figuring over the coming weeks, the Netherlands midfielder will have to seize this opportunity with both hands.
Andrea Petagna
Striker partner Alejandro Gomez may often attract the most attention, but it was Petagna who stole the show in the reverse fixture, bullying Everton defenders with his blend of physicality and smart hold-up play.
An Italy Under-21 international who still fails to hit the net with enough regularity, Petagna nevertheless remains a considerable nuisance capable of providing the platform from which his other more gifted teammates can thrive.
He'll fancy his chances of playing another key role against a fragile Toffees defence.
Expected starting lineups
Everton: Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Williams, Martina; Davies, Baningime, Klaassen; Rooney, Sandro; Calvert-Lewin
Atalanta: Berisha; Masiello, Caldara, Palomino; Hateboer, Cristante, de Roon, Freuler, Castagne; Petagna, Gomez
Prediction
Unable to qualify and languishing in 16th place in the Premier League table, Everton's eyes will undoubtedly be on Sunday's fixture with Southampton.
In direct contrast, visitors Atalanta know a win would advance their cause of securing a decent knock-out stage draw, and so two markedly different sides are expected to turn out at Goodison.
As such, the superior quality of the likes of Gomez, Petagna and Caldara should be enough to secure a valuable away win for La Dea. Prediction: Everton 1-2 Atlanta
