Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Preview: Everton vs. Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 23 February 2023, 11:56
Seeking a third successive Premier League home win under the tutelage of Sean Dyche, Everton welcome Aston Villa to Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Toffees boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 success over Leeds United last time out, while Unai Emery's men suffered a dramatic late 4-2 defeat to league leaders Arsenal.

Match preview

Insisting that he meant his sensational strike against Leeds last weekend, Everton captain Seamus Coleman came up with the telling contribution in a fiery basement battle against Leeds, who demotion fears deepened as Everton moved that little bit closer to safety.

With 64 minutes on the clock, Coleman caught Illan Meslier off his line, and his sweetly-struck cross-cum-shot from a tight angle found the back of the net before the dogged Dyche-marshalled defence kept the Whites at bay for the remainder of the match.

Leaving the bottom three in their wake, Everton have risen up to 16th in the Premier League table courtesy of their narrow home wins over Arsenal and Leeds, but they are still just one point clear of the drop zone and will be dragged back into danger if results do not go their way this weekend.

Not since the pre-COVID days of August 2019 have Everton won three successive Premier League home games without conceding, and trying to get one over Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield was still a step too far for the Toffees, but optimism is slowly rising.

Each of Everton's last five home games in the Premier League has seen the Toffees score exactly one goal, but a paltry total of 17 throughout the campaign is the joint-worst record in the division - only Wolverhampton Wanderers have also been as shot-shy.

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery was left less than impressed with ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez following Saturday's game at Villa Park, where the Lions went ahead twice against the league leaders but felt the full force of the Gunners' affinity for comeback wins.

Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho scored either side of responses from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko, and in the third minute of second-half injury time, Jorginho's long-range effort cannoned off the bar before comically bouncing in off the head of Martinez, whose time-wasting antics came back to bite him.

The Argentine would try to make himself a hero by going up for a last-minute corner, but Arsenal cleared and sent Gabriel Martinelli on his way to tap home into an empty net, leading a seething Emery to chastise Martinez for darting upfield without instruction from his superiors.

Having incredibly lost two successive home games by 4-2 scorelines - either side of a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City - Villa's top-half hopes have suffered a blow as they lie 11th in the table, although an ailing Chelsea are only three points clear in 10th spot.

Emery's side had clinched three away wins on the bounce before being put to the sword at the Etihad, though, and they are unbeaten in seven Premier League games against Everton - winning each of their last three - but attempts to break down Dyche's defence at Goodison Park have proven futile so far.

Everton Premier League form:

L

L

L

W

L

W

Everton form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

L

W

Aston Villa Premier League form:

D

W

W

L

L

L

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

L

W

W

L

L

L

Team News

Everton's triumph over Leeds would have been the perfect afternoon had Amadou Onana not gone off with a knee injury, but both player and manager are reportedly confident that the key midfielder has not suffered a serious problem.

On a more negative note, Dyche is not expecting Dominic Calvert-Lewin back from a thigh issue as he attempts to get to the bottom of the striker's persistent fitness concerns - going so far as to investigate the striker's mattress and sleep patterns - while Andros Townsend, Nathan Patterson and James Garner are also missing.

Neal Maupay should continue to hold the fort up front while Calvert-Lewin recovers, and Dyche could become the first-ever Everton boss to win each of his first three home league games without conceding.

As for Villa, Diego Carlos is being put through his paces in training after several months of rehabiliation from Achilles surgery, but the Brazilian still needs more time to get up to speed and will not be ready to make his comeback here.

Goalkeepers Robin Olsen and Jed Steer are also occupying beds in the infirmary, so Martinez will be in no danger of losing his spot despite being publicly criticised by his manager, but Villa are said to be open to summer offers for their number one.

Coutinho should be in line for another start after repaying Emery's faith in him against Arsenal - the ex-Liverpool man can expect a frosty reception at Goodison - while Watkins has scored in each of his last four Premier League games and could become the first player in Villa's history to do so five times in a row.

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; McNeil, Onana, Gueye, Doucoure, Iwobi; Maupay

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho

We say: Everton 1-1 Aston Villa

With both of Everton's goals under Dyche so far coming from defenders, the Toffees' prolonged lack of threat in the final third will likely deny them a third successive home win, even if Villa's defending has left a lot to be desired recently.

Previews by email

Top News

17 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The transfer window is open! Clubs around the UK and Europe are getting business done as they look to give themselves the best possible chance at success in the new season. 17 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Romania vs. Ukraine (Monday, 2.00pm) With the waiting finally over, Group E rivals Romania and Ukraine will kick off their Euro 2024 campaigns on Monday afternoon in Munich. 17 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The feature matchup on Wednesday in Major League Soccer will see the Supporters' Shield leaders, Inter Miami, face the reigning MLS Cup champions, the Columbus Crew, at Chase Stadium. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has revealed the club spoke to Thomas Tuchel about the manager's position. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England midfielder Jude Bellingham eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Owen in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Serbia at Euro 2024. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England midfielder Jude Bellingham eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Owen in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Serbia at Euro 2024. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly been named as the Premier League club that had a bid rejected for Lille defender Leny Yoro. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Jude Bellingham and Marc Guehi were the standout players for England, as the Three Lions opened their Euro 2024 campaign with a 1-0 success over Serbia on Sunday night. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England made the perfect start to their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday evening, recording a 1-0 victory over Serbia courtesy of a first-half header from Jude Bellingham. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the match as England recorded a 1-0 victory over Serbia in their opening fixture of Euro 2024 on Sunday night. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly prepared to offer two players in a bid to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is reportedly prepared to consider a potential move to Bayern Munich. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reportedly prepared to offer Pep Guardiola a pay rise to extend his contract beyond the end of next season. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Denmark began their Euro 2024 campaign with a frustrating result as Erik Janza netted a 77th-minute equaliser to rescue a point for Slovenia in Stuttgart. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Belgium will be heading into Monday's Euro 2024 fixture against Slovakia having put together a 17-match streak. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Cristiano Ronaldo has said that the current Portugal "generation" deserve to win a European Championship. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Raphael Varane and Casemiro were allegedly two Manchester United players to question the approach of head coach Erik ten Hag over the last two seasons at Old Trafford. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in a reunion with Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia have allegedly launched a £25m offer for Mason Greenwood, with the Manchester United forward keen to make a permanent move to Spain during this summer's transfer window. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Jack Grealish is reportedly open to discussing a move away from Manchester City during this summer's transfer window after struggling for form during the 2023-24 campaign. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly set to loan one of their teenage starlets out to Belgium for the 2024-25 season. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Wout Weghorst scores a late decisive goal for Netherlands at a major tournament yet again as Oranje record a 2-1 win over Poland at Euro 2024. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Czech Republic suffered a huge blow ahead of Euro 2024 when key midfielder Michal Sadilek was forced to withdraw from the squad due to an injury which he suffered while riding a bike. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Cristiano Ronaldo is set to lead the Portugal line in the country's Euro 2024 opener against Czech Republic, with the forward remaining a vital player for his country at the age of 39. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk One of the favourites for this summer's European Championship will take to the field on Tuesday evening, with Portugal opening their Euro 2024 campaign against the Czech Republic at Leipzig Stadium. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reportedly pushing to hijack Real Madrid's proposed move for River Plate starlet Franco Mastantuono. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly received a significant boost in their pursuit of Crystal Palace's Michael Olise, as the Eagles have begun negotiations to sign a possible successor. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk French giants Lille have reportedly rejected an offer from an unnamed Premier League club for the services of 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will headline the Georgia side in the country's first-ever match in the finals of a major tournament on Tuesday evening. 16 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella is expected to name Juventus' 19-year-old attacker Kenan Yildiz in his starting XI for Tuesday's Euro 2024 opener against Georgia.