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Cast your mind back to the last time Everton travelled to the Stadium of Light.

It was only May. Blues supporters, though, would be forgiven for having collectively wiped the occasion from memory.

A low point in a season of multiple disappointments, the 3-0 thrashing ensured not only Sunderland’s Premier League status but also Roberto Martinez’s Goodison future.

His team jeered by the disgruntled travelling support, the Catalan was sacked less than 48 hours later.

And the teamsheet from that miserable evening underlines the rate of change engendered by new boss Ronald Koeman a matter of months into his tenure.

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Changing of the gloves

One narrative of many running throughout last season concentrated on the goalkeeping situation.

Having been a loyal servant of the club for almost a decade, Tim Howard’s form meant his position was cast into such doubt Martinez had no option but to throw Joel Robles the gloves for the second half of the campaign.

Robles, though, never truly convinced he was the long-term answer, a fact underlined by an error-strewn performance at Sunderland.

Koeman was of similar mind and snapped up Fulham’s Maarten Stekelenburg, who he’d worked with at both Ajax and Southampton.

With Howard gone, Stekelenburg is now the undisputed number one, Robles back warming the bench.

No going back

The defence will be similarly unrecognisable on Monday, no matter what its composition.

In May, with injuries biting, a flat back four saw John Stones and Ramiro Funes Mori at its heart with Leighton Baines left-back and young Matthew Pennington on the opposite flank.

Pennington was the only player to emerge from any credit on the night, but is now sidelined – according to Koeman, for “several months” – due to a hamstring problem.

Stones is now at Manchester City while, should Koeman employ a back four, Funes Mori could find himself on the bench with fit-again skipper Phil Jagielka and new signing Ashley Williams likely to form the preferred centre-back pairing.

Even if Koeman switches to a three-man defence, the emergence of Mason Holgate means Baines could be the only defender to feature both last May and on Monday night.

Muddle in midfield

The criticism of using square pegs in round holes was a stick with which Martinez was regularly beaten during the painful final weeks of his reign.

It was evident at the Stadium of Light, with Tom Cleverley unhappily ploughing away on the right flank.

Cleverley’s been restricted to two cameos from the bench this season, although a reluctance to allow him to leave on loan suggest Koeman doesn’t want to discard the England man.

However, the signing of Yannick Bolasie and availability of Gerard Deulofeu mean the Blues boss will be less inclined to turn to non-specific wide men, no doubt chastened by the recent mercifully brief experiment involving James McCarthy.

McCarthy, a trusted lieutenant for Martinez, was as ever alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield in May but, since Koeman’s arrival, began the season as right wing-back and is now recovering from a groin operation.

The arrival and instant impact of Idrissa Gueye has been a major positive during the opening weeks of the campaign, providing legs and steel alongside the ever-dependable influence of Barry.

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Better alternatives

While Koeman has thus far kept faith with the remainder of the team that started at Sunderland four months ago – Ross Barkley in an attacking midfield role, Kevin Mirallas on the flank and Romelu Lukaku up front – his options from the bench are considerably different.

Aaron Lennon was called upon at half-time in May, but otherwise Howard and Leon Osman have since departed, Mo Besic is injured and both Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo have only featured in the EFL Cup under Koeman.

Oviedo at least made the bench against Stoke City in Everton’s last Premier League outing but, with Seamus Coleman back, Koeman has far greater options at his disposal throughout the team.

The signing that wasn’t

Of course, there would have been one further alternative if Everton had their way last month.

Having netted twice against the Blues in May, Lamine Kone emerged as a chief centre-back target during the closing weeks of the transfer window.

However, the Goodison side saw an £18million bid rebuffed and were ultimately frustrated in their attempts to tempt Sunderland into parting with the Ivorian.

Rather than lining up for Everton on Monday night, Kone will once again be in home colours.

But he’ll find the opposition a much different proposition to the Blues side that stepped out at the Stadium of Light on that dark night in May.