Everton have confirmed that Fabian Delph is ‘unable to feature’ against Liverpool. The 30-year-old is out with a ‘muscle injury’ and won’t recover in time to play on Sunday.
Delph’s injury is bad news for Carlo Ancelotti, as it may leave the Everton manager thin on midfield options – Jean-Philippe Gbamin has been ruled out until 2021 while Morgan Schneiderlin has been linked with a move to OGC Nice. That leaves Ancelotti with Andre Gomes, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Tom Davies and Beni Baningime.
Delph has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, spending much of the campaign sidelined with various injuries. The England international has suffered a groin problem, hamstring problem and had a bout of sickness in March.
Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool, Everton find themselves sitting 12th in the Premier League table. The Blues have 37 points from a possible 87 this season and are without a win in their last three games.
Ancelotti’s men have been more consistent on home soil, however, winning three wins and two draws from their previous five, so there’s some hope of them getting a long-awaited result in a Merseyside derby.