View: Moyes to harshly axe player from Chelsea win - Everton predicted XI vs Brentford

Michael Keane could make way for Jarrad Branthwaite when Everton take on Brentford this weekend.

David Moyes’ side are looking to carry the momentum built before the international break, when the Toffees beat Chelsea 3-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Making the trip to West London, it will have been three weeks since both sides were last in action by the time they lock horns on Saturday, with the Premier League paused for the FA Cup quarter-finals following the culmination of the break.

Sitting seventh and eighth respectively, Brentford and Everton are locked in a battle for European football, with the Toffees eyeing up their first continental appearance since 2017.

Heading into the season’s crunch point, Saturday’s fixture could define the outcome of the campaign for both sides.

Jarrad Branthwaite to be thrown back in as Everton eye European football

It has been a fantastic year for Everton, who are searching for their first taste of European football in almost a decade.

For large parts of the campaign they have had to do without multiple key men, with defender Branthwaite sidelined alongside summer signing Jack Grealish for multiple months each.

The defender featured in the big win against Chelsea last time out, though it was clear that he was not quite up to speed just yet, having racked up just under 15 minutes.

Now, with a three-week gap between fixtures, Moyes may look to throw his star defender back into the lineup, particularly given the stakes of a fixture against one of their direct rivals.

That would mean Keane, rather harshly, dropping out of the XI from the win over Chelsea.

With Branthwaite back involved, the dynamic Grealish remains the only Toffees man sitting on the sidelines as of now.

With the Blues fighting for a continental spot, Moyes welcomes back one his star men just in time, with the season’s crunch point approaching.

Everton can build important momentum with Brentford win

While supporters would have taken a simple mid-table finish given the trauma of recent years, the current positioning in the standings is something that Everton simply cannot squander.

Moving to the state of the art Hill Dickinson Stadium last year, the club as a whole are beginning to operate in a different stratosphere than that of yesteryear, and European football would simply be the icing on the cake – allowing the Blues to strengthen further in the summer with the financial benefits, and the pull of continental action.

A win against Brentford would come at the exact right time, with the two sides level on points with seven league outings to go.

Crucially, Moyes’ side would carry momentum into next week’s Merseyside derby, where Everton will sniff a win given the ever-faltering form of their local rivals.

The end of the current campaign is set to he huge for the Toffees, who simply must keep the pace from now until the end.

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