Unfortunate truth about Everton defender that Sean Dyche simply has to see after Wolves defeat

Everton have struggled in recent weeks with three losses in a row, with the latest coming in their latest outing against Wolves.

It put an end to their strong record which saw them win four on the bounce to completely lift the mood following their 10-point deduction but recent losses have left them languishing just a point above the relegation zone - and there are some worries growing at the back.

Wolves put Sean Dyche's side to the sword by scoring three times and they looked disjointed and panicked when, in other games, that wasn't the case. The centre-back partnership of Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski has been a strong and blossoming partnership but it was disrupted by the manager as he brought Michael Keane into the side.

Typically, he is a player that seems to breed concern for Everton fans as the social media chatter often shows fans clamouring for anyone other than him to start - but maybe it isn't just fan bias, the statistics back them up.

In the 38 games that Keane has featured in the matchday squads under Dyche so far, the winning record is substantially better when he doesn't feature. As it stands, in 15 starts he has been involved in just two clean sheets, two wins and concedes 2.06 a game which is a total of 31 goals.

On the other hand, in the 23 games where he hasn't started the win ratio skyrockets to 60%, they conceded just 0.92 goals per game and they've taken 45 points from a possible 69.

The only other option at the back is Ben Godfrey who has played just 180 minutes of action so far and Mason Holgate, on loan at Southampton who could return in January, has also featured just five times. Tarkowski played every minute of last season and without additions, they will need him to try and emulate the same. Any injuries to him or Branthwaite could be a real issue.