Fixtures
- Aston Villa Vs. Everton – Sat, Sep 14th 2024, 17:30
At A Glance
A first home victory of the season is the aim when Aston Villa welcome Everton to Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal got the better of Unai Emery’s team in their only game in B6 thus far, with their away form impressing either side of that match.
Villa have beaten West Ham United and Leicester City on their travels to take six points from their opening three top flight tilts.
Everton have endured a tough time in their first trio of league fixtures, losing all three matches.
Heavy defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur were followed up a gut-wrenching loss to Bournemouth before the international break.
The Toffees were 2-0 up and cruising before the Cherries netted three late goals to steal the points.
Stats
This is the most played fixture in English league history. Aston Villa have won 80 games to Everton’s 76, while 56 have been drawn.
Villa are unbeaten in all 10 Premier League games versus Everton since returning to the top flight in 2019, winning seven and drawing three.
Everton have won just four times in their 29 Premier League visits to Villa Park.
Aston Villa can win three of their opening four matches for the second time in the past 10 Premier League seasons.
The last Toffees player to score a league goal at Villa Park was Romelu Lukaku in March 2016.
Jhon Duran has scored seven Premier League goals despite making only three career starts in the division. His tally of six goals as a substitute since the start of last season is the most of any Premier League player.
The Toffees could lose their opening four league matches for the first time since 1958. They drew their fourth game of last season at Sheffield United.
Everton are in danger of registering five successive Premier League defeats for the first time in 19 years.
Sean Dyche is winless in all six Premier League games as a manager against Unai Emery, only avoiding defeat in Everton’s goalless draw versus Villa at Goodison Park in January.
The Last Meeting
Villa were held to a draw against Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League back in January
Álex Moreno hammered home a half-volley in the first half but saw his effort ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
The away side continued to dominate possession and pushed until the final minutes for a winner, with Matty Cash denied by a superb block from Vitaly Mykolenko and Jhon Duran flicking a shot inches wide.
Emi Martinez made a pair of fine saves before half-time to thwart Everton, who also saw Abdoulaye Doucoure’s late goal ruled out for offside.
Team News
Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins are fit to feature for Villa, with the former recovering from a minor knock on England duty.
Matty Cash remains out, while Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are back training with the squad.
Orel Mangala could debut for Everton following his loan move from Lyon, but captain Seamus Coleman is “touch-and-go” according to Dyche.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson will not feature despite returning to training, with strikers Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti both out too.
Managers’ Pre-Match Thoughts
“It’s difficult to manage the players when they are playing a lot of matches and international matches, but we have experience. Last year was very interesting with the season we had. Even with a lot of injuries, we were finishing in good balance. This year, we’ve started with less injured players. Some are injured, like Matty Cash, Robin Olsen and others who have some pain like Watkins. Last year we started with two leg injuries and big injuries to Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia. This year hopefully we can keep the same process we are doing and not having injuries for a long time. I will manage the matches, trying to focus on each match with the players we have available.” – Unai Emery
“They’ve done very well with the coaching they have there and the manager. I think he’s done a tremendous job. They’ve invested but invested well. It’s not easy and you have to choose the right players who can enhance what you do. They’re a good outfit. They’re learning, I think, because the more games that come around, a lot of clubs learn how to manage it and learn how to deal with it. We can’t rely on any of that. We have to rely on us performing and us giving a good enough performance to win.” – Sean Dyche
