A minor hamstring injury means the Toffees will be without leading scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with 13 Premier League goals, for the visit of Fulham and even though their next-best goalscorer James Rodriguez (five) returns, there may be a need to redress their leaky backline issues.

"I would more worried if we conceded seven and didn't score," said Ancelotti.

"I think we had problems where we usually didn't have a problem on set-pieces.

"We practically conceded three goals against Tottenham, one goal from a set-piece against Manchester United. Usually we are solid and strong.

"We have tall players who are good with their head – Yerry Mina, Michael Keane, Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison – but we had this problem and we have to adjust a little bit some positions and we are going to do that.

"Also I think we try to play an open game, this is the reason we conceded a lot, it is true, but we also scored a lot.

"We tried to play an open game against United and the strategy was not just to defend and counter-attack, it was to play from the back and use our quality with James and Andre Gomes."

Everton have taken just one point from their last three home matches with the 2-0 defeat to struggling Newcastle a fortnight ago coming as something of a shock to Ancelotti.

The Toffees boss is keen to avoid another unpleasant experience against a team who started the weekend in the bottom three.

"The last league game we played at home was a defeat, a surprise, we don't want surprises against Fulham, while knowing it is a difficult game for a lot of reasons," he added.

"We are not far from the first four places and our target is to stay there.

"Fulham, in my opinion, are playing really good football – with courage and intensity. We have to pay attention in this kind of game."