Mason Holgate could make his Everton comeback against Manchester United.
Saturday’s lunchtime showdown will be the first time that Holgate has been in contention for the Blues this term after suffering an injury during pre-season.
The 24-year-old’s toe injury sidelined him for the opening two months of the campaign as Michael Keane and Yerry Mina shared duties in central defence.
But Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Friday that Holgate is among several players who will be available for the visit of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side this weekend.
He said: “We have practically all the squad available apart from Richarlison and [Fabian] Delph, that had a little problem yesterday.
“Just for a few days he’s out, all the others are available.
“I forgot to say also Holgate is back, so it will not be easy to find the back four that are going to start tomorrow.
“But I think it’s important to have experienced players, quality players.
“For the first time since we started the season, I had all the squad available apart from [Jean-Philippe] Gbamin. This is a really good sign.”
The Everton manager also issued another staunch defence of Jordan Pickford with the goalkeeper set to return in the showdown with the Red Devils.
Pickford has retained Gareth Southgate’s backing as England’s first-choice stopper despite being dropped for the Toffees’ recent defeat to Newcastle.
Ancelotti reaffirmed his own support but admitted that the 26-year-old’s high-profile goalkeeping mistakes stem from overthinking rather than instinct.
“His mentality is good. I don’t want it to change,” insisted the Italian.
“He’s a good guy, a funny guy, and I don’t want to change his mentality or his character.
“I think sometimes he did a mistake because he thought too much. He has to use his instinct more because that is really good.
“He did fantastic saves because when he reacts he is really top top.
“When he has to act, sometimes he does mistakes in that situation but he is still a young goalkeeper with a lot of quality and there he can improve.
“This is his character and it is difficult to change the character of people.
“On the pitch, he has to be focused on what he is doing, knowing his limit and also knowing where is his quality.”