Greg O'Keeffe has claimed that Andre Gomes is 'awful' in one area ahead of Everton taking on Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Lowdown: Gomes' Southampton nightmare
In the Toffees' 2-0 loss at Southampton last weekend, it is safe to say that the midfielder had a nightmare.
A local Saints radio pundit (via Paul Brown) claimed that the 28-year-old was 'poor' and was 'costing' his team, even going as far as to say that he 'couldn't get any worse'.
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Gomes lost out on four of his duels in total that day and failed to record a single shot on target, dribble, clearance, interception or key pass, while he also lost possession of the ball 12 times, all in just 45 minutes on the pitch (SofaScore).
Therefore, his form will certainly be a worry ahead of the visit from the reigning Premier League champions this weekend.
The Latest: Gomes is 'awful' at stopping players
Taking to Twitter in sharing an article from The Athletic ahead of Saturday's clash, O'Keeffe has claimed that Gomes is 'awful' at stopping players going past him.
The journalist also wrote that the Portugal international is not best suited to performing in a two-man midfield against strong opposition.
The Verdict: Start Doucoure instead
Even though Abdoulaye Doucoure has just resumed training, Frank Lampard should look to start the Frenchman instead of Gomes this weekend. given that the ex-Watford midfielder is in the squad,
The Euro 2016 winner needs to be taken out of the firing line, and no tougher test will come for Everton against champions and league leaders Man City.
Doucoure is much better suited to playing in a two in the middle of the park, as seen by the fact that he ranks highly among his team-mates in terms of tackles, shots, dribbles, passes and through balls per match (WhoScored), and the Toffees will surely need his overall quality if they are to take any points off Pep Guardiola's side on Saturday.
In other news, find out what 'big' Toffees team news claim has been made ahead of Saturday