Sørensen set to balance squad when Everton face Newcastle United | OneFootball

Everton manager Brian Sørensen says that he will be looking to carefully balance his squad when The Toffees travel to Newcastle United for a Women’s League Cup group stage fixture on Wednesday evening.

The Merseysiders do not have the luxury of a large squad. Their numbers have been further reduced by injuries to Aurora Galli and Inma Gabarro in the first two weeks of the new season.

In recent seasons, Everton have had to prioritise Barclays Women’s Super League football over the Women’s League Cup given their small squad, injuries and the quick turnaround with games. When speaking to WSL Full-Time, Everton boss Sørensen admitted that the club are in a similar position this season and that changes will be made for the trip to Newcastle United.

“We are probably in the same boat [as last season] in terms of the numbers that we have available,” Sørensen said. “We play Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, so we have to manage it in the right way.

“We don’t go into any game not wanting to do our best but of course, we will play some of those players that haven’t played as much because we need to take care of the squad.”

Everton and Newcastle United contested a pre-season friendly on Merseyside just a few weeks ago therefore Sørensen knows what to expect from The Magpies at Kingston Park.

He said “We played them in pre-season and it was a good game, so I’m excited to play them, although not on a Wednesday night away but that’s the luck of the draw.

“They were one of our last pre-season opponents, so we have a good idea of how they play.

“It was a good game that we had last time and I expect it to be the same up there.”

With Sørensen looking to bring some less used senior players and possibly a couple of youngsters into the starting XI, there may be some debuts on Tyneside. One player who could be involved is goalkeeper Rylee Foster who recently joined Everton on a short-term deal. Sørensen says that the keeper is settling in well and that she is in a good place to kick on.

He said “Rylee has been good since she came in. She has been really good in training, she’s a good character and good with her feet. She is still building her way in terms of her overall fitness level but I think she’s on a good path back to her best form.”

Everton’s Women’s League Cup fixture at Newcastle United kicks-off at 7pm on Wednesday evening.