When will Dream Team managers start taking Everton seriously?

AT the risk of sounding like Rafa Benitez, let’s talk facts.

Everton are currently 17th in the Premier League but only because they were slapped with a ten-point deduction for financial indiscretions.

Had they not incurred the punishment, they would reside in the top half of the table.

The Toffees have won seven league games this season, just one fewer than Newcastle and the same number as Brighton and West Ham.

From a purely footballing perspective, they are genuinely rather good right now.

And so the question must be asked: when will Dream Team managers start taking Everton seriously?

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Dream TeamAmong the best assets in their respective positions[/caption]

Sean Dyche’s side have lost just once in their last eight games in all competitions – a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in which they had more than their fair share of chances.

Consecutive wins over Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea in December have given the Goodison Park faithful reasons to be optimistic.

Notably, Everton are yet to concede a goal this month.

Naturally, a trio of clean sheets has done wonders for Jordan Pickford (£2.8m) in the realm of Dream Team.

England’s No1 has notched 25 points across his last three outings and now finds himself fourth in the goalkeeper rankings, just one point off the podium behind Robert Sanchez (£2.6m).

GettyThat clean sheet feeling[/caption]

Similarly, Vitaliy Mykolenko (£3.2m) is now fourth among defenders having plundered 26 points against Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea.

The Ukraine international is just two points shy of a century with only William Saliba (£3.9m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.3m) above him in the defensive rankings.

However, whereas the few defenders above Mykolenko are among the most-selected players in the game, Everton’s left-back features in just 1.4% of teams.

He’s currently less popular than Willy Boly (£2.1m), Marc Guehi (£2.6m) and Axel Disasi (£3m).

Mykolenko has made 51 tackles this season, the most among defenders at the time of writing.

In fact, he’s earned 11 points through tackles alone since the start of Gameweek 10.

ReutersA tackle machine![/caption]

Pickford is marginally more popular than his team-mate but his ownership remains modest at 2.5%.

Aaron Ramsdale (£3.4m) features in more teams and he’s firmly Arsenal’s second-choice keeper these days.

Dream Team bosses would do well to shake off their false perceptions of Everton and acknowledge the reality that they are one of the most in-form teams in the top flight.

Only neighbours Liverpool have earned more points in their last six Premier League fixtures.

And it’s no coincidence Pickford and Mykolenko are flying high given Dyche’s side have conceded 20 league goals – only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City boast a better defensive record in 2023/24.

With the European competitions set to pause for almost two months after this week, there’s no real reason for gaffers to shy away from Everton’s best-performing assets.

Simply put, Dream Team managers would be foolish to overlook the Toffees entirely.