Everton avoided relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the 2022/23 season – here, we preview their FPL and wider fantasy football prospects for the 2023/24 campaign.

We take a look at their season and star players, predicted starting 11 and set-piece takers. There’s also a dedicated section for fans of Sky Sports Fantasy Football, Telegraph Fantasy Football and Dream Team.

Our in-depth look at the top three Everton FPL players will be published nearer to the Gameweek 1 deadline here.

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Everton: At a glance

Manager: Sean Dyche

2022/23 position: 17th

Top scorer: Dwight McNeil (7)

Top assists: Alex Iwobi (8)

Key transfers in: Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Arnaut Danjuma (Villarreal)

Key transfers out: None

Pre-season friendly results

Last updated: 01/08/23

Premier League bottom half 2022/23. Source: Google

Everton stats and best players

Everton were 19th when they sacked Frank Lampard back in January, trusting Sean Dyche to steer them to safety.

The former Burnley boss had a tough task – made harder by the sale of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle and his job starting one day before the January transfer window slammed shut.

The Toffees failed to bring in any new players and Dyche had to make do with what he had.

Everton were struggling to score goals and although they were ranked around midtable for conceding, their expected goals conceded was among the league’s bottom four.

Their new manager was unable to tighten things up defensively. They actually worsened in this regard.

But while Everton’s lack of a reliable goalscorer continued to be an issue, their attacking stats did improve under Dyche.

It was just enough to avoid the drop, with a 1-0 home win against Bournemouth on the final day ensuring another season of Premier League football at Goodison Park.

Everton’s season stats – before and after Sean Dyche’s appointment

But after two close shaves with relegation in successive seasons, Dyche’s men will need to improve further in order to be sure of their status in the top flight.

Their key stats all ranked comfortably in the bottom half, with concerns at both ends of the pitch. Only Wolves scored fewer goals, while Bournemouth were the only ones to concede more shots.

Everton conceded the second-highest number of headed attempts on goal this season, although much of this came in the Lampard era.

Dyche managed to turn Everton’s leakiness in this area from the worst in the league to the joint-eighth best. Improvements elsewhere will be crucial to helping lift his team up the table.

Everton’s overall season stats

2022/23 season best players

Injuries to talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a significant effect on Everton’s attacking threat.

Hamstring and knee troubles limited the Englishman to 17 appearances, in which he scored two goals.

Everton’s top scorer was ex-Burnley midfielder Dwight McNeil, whose form under his old manager was a vital part of the Toffees’ survival.

McNeil scored four and assisted two in his last eight games, making him the eighth-highest scorer in FPL in that time. Among the highlights was a brace in Everton’s surprise 5-1 away win over in-form Brighton.

The winger finished with the highest expected assists (xA) tally in the squad (6.68). But his five assists were beaten by Alex Iwobi’s eight from an xA of 5.92.

Dwight McNeil’s stats

Abdoulaye Doucoure, who scored the winning goal on the last day, chipped in with five goals and two assists, while Demarai Gray managed four goals and two assists.

Defensively, Everton had Jordan Pickford to thank for some key saves. Only three regular goalkeepers were called into action more often, with Pickford averaging 3.35 saves per game.

Centre-back Yerry Mina scored twice despite playing only seven games. James Tarkowski in contrast played every game.

Another regular from Dyche’s time at Burnley, Tarkowski had the highest expect xG of the Everton defenders with 3.12 but only found the back of the net once.

His goal came in Dyche’s first match, with Everton beating Arsenal 1-0. It kicked-off hopes among fantasy managers that the centre-back might turn into a fantasy gem, although this was ultimately the peak.

James Tarkowski. Picture by Getty Images

Everton predicted lineup for FPL Gameweek 1

For our final predicted lineups and team news, see Ben Dinnery’s article ahead of the deadline.

Below, we take a look at our Everton predicted lineup as things stand.

Everton predicted lineup

Pickford will retain his place as number-one should links of a transfer not materialise. One such rumour was Tottenham Hotspur’s interest, however they have signed a new goalkeeper.

Seamus Coleman had surgery on an ankle ligament injury he suffered in May and the 34-year-old right-back’s contract has now been renewed.

He will be battling it out with Nathan Patterson for a place in the team but is not expected to be back for Gameweek 1.

Conor Coady’s loan move from Wolves was not made permanent, while Mina also left this summer following the expiry of his contract. Michael Keane may therefore partner Tarkowski as things stand.

McNeil had to fill in for Vitalii Mykolenko at times late last season, so Ashley Young may be on Dyche’s mind as a backup to ensure McNeil can focus on what he does best.

Amadou Onana is another player who could be enticed away from the Toffees but Idrissa Gueye is expected to line up in defensive midfield for another season.

Doucoure was one of the brighter sparks in Dyche’s team last season and should retain a more attacking role once again.

Up top, Everton are still short of options at the time of writing.

Calvert-Lewin’s fitness is up in the air, with Dyche reporting on July 29 that he is combining training with fitness work.

Arnaut Danjuma is not a natural number nine but could be preferred as back-up to Neal Maupay, who scored just once all season and is another to be linked with a transfer.

Youssef Chermiti is close to signing for the Toffees, according to BBC Sport. The teenage striker may have to be thrown into action early on.

Ellis Simms has departed for Coventry so is no longer a factor.

A patchy season for Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a result of injuries

Everton set-piece takers

The Hub keeps a track on all set-piece takers on our dedicated set-piece page.

A summary of Everton’s expected set-piece takers is below.

Gray took two penalties last season to Calvert-Lewin’s one – but the latter was not on the pitch at the time of Gray’s spot-kicks.

Elsewhere, deliveries into the box are expected to be shared between Gray and McNeil. Gray took more corners and indirect free-kicks, while direct free-kicks were almost entirely his domain.

Penalties: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Demarai Gray

Direct free kicks: Demarai Gray

Corners/indirect free-kicks: Demarai Gray, Dwight Mcneil

Aerial threats: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Tarkowski, Amadou Onana

Demarai Gray’s stats

Everton stats for Sky, TFF and Dream Team

Sky Sports Fantasy Football awards bonus points for passing, tackles, shots and saves. Players are awarded two or three extra points for 60/70 passes, four/five tackles, two/three shots on target and three/five saves.

In Sky, centre-backs and defensive midfielders are the ones who tend to pick up passing bonus most often. Tackles tend to come from full-backs and defensive midfielders.

Tackles are also a factor in Telegraph Fantasy Football for midfielders, who are awarded a point for every two tackles. Goalkeepers get one extra point for every save made.

And in Dream Team, the 2023/24 game has had a complete revamp. There’s no longer Star Man and WhoScored ratings, while a new bonus system is in play – see our guide here for full details.

Shots, tackles and saves are also a factor in the new Dream Team game, so the data below will be useful. Keep an eye on the Dream Team Ultimate Guide for more detailed analysis.

Below, we have highlighted some of the notable players of interest.

Everton passing, tackles, shots, saves data

Average stats

Sky managers hoping for a player who regularly delivers passing bonus are unlikely to find what they’re looking for at Goodison Park.

Everton players managed passing bonus just 11 times, with Coady (three) and Tarkowski (four) the most-regular recipients.

Gueye managed tackle bonus 12 times, with tier-one shots and tier-two passes contributing to 36 extra bonus points. As a midfielder, the tackle points could appeal to Telegraph managers.

Patterson picked up Sky tackle bonus five times in 19 appearances and could be an option if he remains injury free and nails down the right-back role.

Pickford ranked joint-fourth for saves bonus among goalkeepers in Sky, however Everton’s clean-sheet tally of nine would have to improve for him to have wide appeal. He was the tenth-highest scoring keeper in Sky and Telegraph last season.

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Everton FPL and fantasy football tips: Predicted lineup, set-piece takers and team preview

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