Now, Dyche has to fire his 4/10 Everton star, who only prevailed in 20% of his duels.

Everton failed to take advantage of Newcastle United’s current injury crisis, with the Toffees coming away with just a point in the 1-1 draw at St James’ Park on Tuesday night.

Eddie Howe‘s side took the lead through Alexander Isak’s first-half strike but couldn’t secure all three points, as defender Paul Dummett inexplicably dragged Ashley Young down in the 18-yard box, resulting in a penalty after a VAR review.

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up to power his penalty past Martin Dubravka, securing a vital point for Sean Dyche‘s side in the hunt for Premier League survival.

The Toffees were fortunate to get anything out of the game, with Howe’s side in control for the vast majority of the encounter, but the resilience of Dyche’s side to stay within touching distance of the Magpies was rewarded.

However, one player in particular had a shocker, with the Everton ace producing a below-par performance, before being dragged off during the second half.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stats against Newcastle

Despite being the club’s top scorer during the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure produced a poor display in the encounter at St James’ last night.

In recent months, the 31-year-old has been utilised in a more advanced role by boss Dyche, with the Malian playing just in behind either Calvert-Lewin or Beto.However, last night he was unable to have any sort of positive impact on the game, with the midfielder only winning 20% of the duels that he contested.

Doucoure could only conjure up 23 touches during the meeting, with the midfielder also losing possession six times – an average of once every 10 minutes.

He was subsequently replaced on the hour mark by Portuguese talent Andre Gomes, with the former Barcelona man looking more assured in the number 10 role than Doucoure.

Doucoure’s stats against Newcastle

Statistics

Tally

Minutes played

Shots

Touches

Possession lost

Duels won

1/5 (20%)

Dribbled past

Stats via Sofascore

The former Watford man was handed a brutally low 4/10 rating by Liverpool World journalist Will Rooney, with the Malian midfielder having been largely ‘ineffective’ on the night.

Doucoure’s woeful display should see him benched ahead of Saturday’s huge relegation clash against Burnley at Goodison Park, with one player deserving of a recall after his cameo off the bench against the Magpies.

The man to replace Doucoure

After his impressive performance in his stint on the pitch last night, James Garner must come back into the starting lineup to replace Doucoure, with the youngster bringing some much needed energy and quality to Dyche’s midfield.

Despite only featuring for 29 minutes, the former Manchester United talent had 19 touches, just four less than the 31-year-old could manage in under half the time.