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Sean Dyche says Evertonians will help inspire the Blues during tonight's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

It's set to be the Everton manager's first derby experience on home soil, and he believes supporters will back the players just like they did so impressively against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

“They certainly made a difference on Sunday, especially after the week we’d had," he was quoted in the Liverpool ECHO.

“It was a very tough week on me, it was a very tough week on the staff and the players and the fans who travelled down to Chelsea. I don’t want to keep harping on about that but it was a very important reaction to that week from the players but also from the fans.

“To stick to task and go ‘right, okay, we’ve got to push that aside because these are really important games,’ you can’t ask for any more than that. We took the heat, I took the heat because it wasn’t good enough, it’s as simple as that.

“But then you can ask for a reaction and there was one. At least they gave the breathing room for the reaction to happen and that’s not easy for fans sometimes.

“I’ve massive respect for that because the team needed that first bit of the game on Sunday to have room to get it up and running. If it starts too early from the fanbase going the wrong way, it gets more and more difficult.

“But the fans just started in really good voice, really positively and stayed with the course of the team until we scored and then scored again. After that, the rest looked after itself.

“That’s a really important factor and that is absolutely appreciated by all who are involved – me, the staff and the players. We know it wasn’t good enough the week before and we had to give a response but to allow that window for the team, to give them a breather to see if they can respond, that’s really, really important for the fanbase so that is absolutely respected.”

Dyche confirmed in Tuesday's press conference that both Beto and Seamus Coleman will miss tonight's match, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces a late fitness check.

Keeping with the ECHO, the local outlet speculates who may be given the nod up top in the forwards' absence.

"If Everton’s number nine doesn’t make it, Dyche – who picked Ellis Simms to lead the line against the Reds at Anfield last season – might have to turn to rookie Youssef Chermiti or Arnaut Danjuma who recently returned to fitness. Otherwise he might be forced to throw in a wildcard at centre-forward with the likes of Amadou Onana or even Michael Keane offering left field options as auxiliary target men."

Tonight will be Jurgen Klopp's final Merseyside derby, and he expects a lively atmosphere generated from the hosts.