Moyes waits on Arteta

Everton manager David Moyes is hopeful playmaker Mikel Arteta will be fit enough to return for the visit of Sunderland tomorrow.

The midfielder missed last weekend’s Merseyside derby defeat after jarring a nerve in his back but, having had a full week to recover, he has a good chance of being fit.

However, Portuguese full-back Nuno Valente is likely to miss the rest of the season after the thigh injury which kept him out of the last two matches proved to be more serious than first thought.

Midfielder Andy van der Meyde begins the first match of a three-game suspension after his red card against Liverpool.

Provisional squad: Wright, Hibbert, Weir, Stubbs, Yobo, Naysmith, Osman, Cahill, Neville, Arteta, Carsley, Davies, McFadden, Beattie, Ferguson, Kilbane, Turner.