Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard is impressed by their new midfield partnership of Marouane Fellaini and Darron Gibson.

The American has likened it to the Thomas Gravesen and Lee Carsley combination.

He told evertontv: "I think Darron and Felli have (replicated the Carsley/Gravesen partnership) in that they are both good passers of the ball, they are really tough and as soon as Darron got here you could see there was something there.

"It takes 25 to 50 games together to really cultivate that, it doesn't happen overnight. But even then (in that first game) you could really see the early stages of a good partnership.

"They are both young with a lot of experience and if we can keep those guys healthy, it will be really good for us because you like to have a solid spine to the team."