In addition to Lucas Digne, Allan and Alex Iwobi, Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez could be rested by Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti for the Rotherham United clash. The ex-Real Madrid, FC Porto and AS Monaco player returned to action last week during the Premier League clash at home to West Ham United and Everton boss Carlo Ancelotticould rest him for theFA Cup game.

Carlo Ancelotti and Everton could use the FA Cup third round tie with the Millers to return to winning ways after they were beaten in their last outing, a slim 1-0 loss at home to East London giants West Ham United. Everton went into the game on the back of a four-match winning run in the league and a win over the Hammers would have made it five straight victories in the Premier League. In the end, Merseyside giants Everton succumbed to a narrow defeat courtesy the late goal from in-form Czech Republic international midfielder Thomas Soucek. The slender defeat pushed Everton three places down the league table from fourth to seventh spot with 29 points. Everton have a game in hand. The Toffees have the same number of points as Tottenham Hotspur in fourth position. The North Londoners occupy the final Champions League place on the Premier League table.

Iwobi has since made three appearances for the Toffees and he has scored on a couple of occasions.Yobo believes that the Merseyside outfit will provide his compatriot with the perfect platform to become a great player.He told BBC Sport: “Everton is the perfect club for a brave player like Alex Iwobi and I know it’s the right step to becoming a great player. The manager [Marco Silva] is building an amazing team and he believes so much in Alex to add him to his squad. Already he has started well by scoring two headed goals and it’s just the beginning of bigger things to come.”

Iwobi made impressive progress under the guidance of Gunners boss Unai Emery last season and he managed to contribute a career-high tally of six goals and eight assists from 51 appearances. Despite this, he had regularly been the subject of criticism from the Gunners supporters, given he could have fared much better with more composure within the box.

At Goodison Park, the Nigerian won’t come under the same level of pressure and expectation and he has certainly grabbed the fans’ attention during the opening weeks of the new season. Everton are currently on seven points after the opening four league matches and this sees them behind the top four on only goal difference. Following the international break, the Toffees are set to face Bournemouth at home and manager Marco Silva will be hoping for a second league triumph on the bounce.