Rodriguez passed fit to start as Sigurdsson returns to the Everton side for Saints clash

James Rodriguez (£8.0m) is fit to start for Everton this afternoon as the Premier League’s only unbeaten side head south to face Southampton.

Kick-off at St Mary’s is at 14:00 GMT.

It’s been a rollercoaster week for owners of Rodriguez, whose manager initially deemed him a major doubt for this Gameweek 6 clash.

The prognosis was a lot more hopeful in Friday’s press conference and, to complete his Lazarus-like recovery from a “haematoma”, Rodriguez is passed fit to feature against the Saints this afternoon.

Carlo Ancelotti has been forced into two changes, however, with the injured Seamus Coleman (£5.0m) and the suspended Richarlison (£7.8m) unavailable.

Ben Godfrey (£5.0m) makes his first Premier League start for the Toffees at right-back, while Alex Iwobi (£5.9m) is recalled down the left flank.

The Everton has made another, unenforced alteration to his starting XI, dropping Andre Gomes (£5.5m) to the bench and handing a run-out to Gylfi Sigurdsson (£6.9m).

That’s a significant inclusion from a penalty-taking perspective, of course, with the Iceland international having been first in line from 12 yards for the Toffees for several years now – albeit with mixed results.

The hosts’ one change from Gameweek 5 has also been imposed on them, with loanee Theo Walcott (£5.5m) ineligible to face his parent club.

The fit-again Stuart Armstrong (£5.8m), who returns from a period of self-isolation, is back in the Saints’ line-up on the right of midfield.

The flagged Rodriguez has suffered 423,083 Fantasy Premier League transfers out ahead of this fixture, although that was offset by 280,064 purchases.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s (£7.7m) popularity in FPL continues to rise, however, with the in-form striker now the most popular player in the game and boasting a 56.8% ownership.

He has scored in all five Premier League matches this season, taking his tally to 15 since Ancelotti first took charge at Goodison Park in Gameweek 19 last season.

Danny Ings (£8.5m), who starts for the Saints this afternoon, is the only FPL forward who can match that tally in that time.

Southampton XI: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond, Adams, Ings.

Everton XI: Pickford, Godfrey, Mina, Keane, Digne, Doucoure, Allan, Sigurdsson, Rodriguez, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi.

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