James Rodriguez hasn't recovered in time to face Arsenal

Everton will look to string together their third successive Premier League victory with a win over Arsenal on Saturday evening, but will have to do so without James Rodriguez as he hasn't recovered in time to face the Gunners.

Having been struggling with a number of niggling complaints in recent weeks, the Colombian was expected to be back for the clash against Leicester, but that wasn't the case.

Carlo Ancelotti has made clear he isn't willing to risk the fitness of the former Real Madrid playmaker, although he could play a part in the upcoming Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester United on December 23.

"Not yet," Ancelotti confirmed when asked about James in his pre-match press conference.

"For us it's too soon to put him at risk. He's working and I hope he can be available for the game against United."

Having missed the last three matches, where Everton have picked up positive results, the Italian coach was forced to answer whether he felt his team was better defensively without James.

"No, I don't think so," he said, chuckling.

"We had three clean sheets and it's true that two clean sheets were where James wasn't there, but it's also true that the first clean sheet we had in the season was one of the most difficult opponents, that is Tottenham with two fantastic strikers.

"I think we've had periods where we didn't defend well as a team.

"Our defence's ability doesn't depend on if James is there or not.

"It depends on the concentration that we have and the fact that we need to work together."