Gael Clichy will return to the starting line up after serving a one match suspension for picking up five yellow cards this season. Gallas could return to the starting line up in place of Toure

A replay wasn’t really what we needed in the FA Cup, our threadbare squad now has to play an extra game shortly before we travel to White Hart Lane in the league, making it four games in twelve days. Our attentions turn back to the league for now though, with an important game against Everton that comes quickly after the cup tie. We’re unbeaten in eight in all competitions and have won three in a row in the league, and we need to keep that run going. The next few games could be key, Villa have lost captain Laursen to injury for two months, and three time player of the month this year Ashley Young is suspended for their next game. Their win last night against Portsmouth didn’t help but we need to keep the pressure on. We’re still only six points behind Liverpool and Chelsea, and until 4.30 last Saturday three of the top four were drawing or losing, showing that there will be more points dropped at some point, and we need to take advantage to claw our way back into the top four.

Everton are unbeaten in eight matches since the ridiculous game against Aston Villa where they equalised in the 93rd minute and lost in the 94th. In their last sixteen matches in all competitions since we beat them 3-1 at home, they’ve drawn five, won nine and lost two. Everton have the fifth worst home record in the league, having only won three times in eleven attempts. They currently sit five points below us in sixth place, and in terms of our current league position it would be nice to win and put an eight point gap below us, just in case we slip up any more later in the season. Everton’s next three games are Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in the cup, in the space of a week. Harsh. They’ve shown a knack of scoring from set pieces in recent weeks, specifically Cahill who twice managed to ditch his markers at Anfield to score. Given our record of defending from set pieces we’ll need to be very, very careful in what will inevitably be a tough fixture.

Everton have been one of our favourite teams to play in the Wenger era. We’ve beaten them twenty times, drawn three times and lost four of the twenty six meetings between the two sides in all competitions. However, we’ve only won two and drawn one of the last six meetings at Goodison Park, losing the other three, including two in the last three seasons. We managed to pull a win out of nowhere last season, when we went in at half time 1-0 down and ended up winning 4-1 with both teams having players sent off (Bendtner for us) in a thoroughly ridiculous second half. The result was amazing given that we actually played pretty poorly, Eduardo popping up with a brace within twelve minutes of the second half starting.

Team News

Gael Clichy will return to the starting line up after serving a one match suspension for picking up five yellow cards this season. Gallas could return to the starting line up in place of Toure, purely because we play three games this week rather than him being preferred selection-wise. But Djourou is likely to stay put. Almunia, Adebayor, Denilson and Diaby will return to the starting line up. Despite Eduardo’s insistence that he is “ready to play”, Wenger has said that he is a few weeks away from returning, following a possible behind closed doors reserves match and an international friendly for Croatia.

Subs: Fabianski, Toure, Song, Wilshere, Ramsey, Vela, Bendtner.

Marouane Fellaini will return to their starting line up after serving a two match ban that covered both Merseyside derbies after racking up ten yellow cards this season. Un-surprising given that he’s committed more fouls than any other player in the Premier League this season. Yakubu is out for the season and Saha is also injured at the moment, they’ve been playing Anichebe and Cahill up front. Arteta sat out their FA Cup tie at the weekend with a rib injury, he’s been rated as 50/50 to be involved so he could start the game on the bench.