Predicted Everton side to face Sunderland: Lukaku and Lookman face returning Pickford

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Here is how we predict Everton will line-up against Sunderland this weekend.

To be played on Saturday 25th February 2017 at 16:00. Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool

Odds: Everton 2/5, Draw 7/2, Sunderland 7/1

Everton host Premier League strugglers Sunderland with the news that talismanic forward Romelu Lukaku has been declared fit for selection having missed the Toffee’s recent training camp in Dubai.

Lukaku, scorer of 17 of Everton’s 40 league goals this season, is expected to take his usual centre-forward spot alongside rookie Ademola Lookman – with Ross Barkley being afforded a more roaming role at the head of the midfield.

The returning Belgium international remains one strike short of Duncan Ferguson’s top-flight Blues record of 60 Premier League goals for the Goodison Park outfit, but will be hopeful of equaling the landmark against a Sunderland side that conceded four goals without reply against Southampton last time out.

Behind Everton’s forward line we are likely to see the trio of Gareth Barry, Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Scheiderlin in manager Ronald Koeman’s midfield engine room – in front of a now established back four, consisting of Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines, Ramiro Funes Mori and Ashley Williams.

Opponents Sunderland may well re-introduce talented goalkeeper Jordan Pickford into the starting XI, after the 22-year-old stopper returned to first team training this week following a knee ligament injury.

In other team news, Sunderland boss David Moyes looks set to provide Adnan Januzaj with a central role in support of goal-getter Jermain Defoe – with a 3-5-1-1 system anticipated.

Here is the predicted line-up for both Everton and Sunderland, in full: