The Premier League returns after the international break with Everton looking to pick up where they left off, while Aston Villa are aiming to secure their first three points of the season.
Match News and Current Form
Everton return to action with momentum after three straight competitive wins before the break. Their form resulted in manager David Moyes being nominated for Manager of the Month, and a rejuvenated Jack Grealish being nominated for Player of the Month. Now they’ll look to build on that further with another league win at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and doing so would see them become just the third-ever Premier League side to win their first two league matches at their second permanent home stadium.
In contrast, it has been a bleak start for Aston Villa who start the round 19th in the table after just one point from their opening three rounds. For just the second time in the club’s history, Villa have also failed to score in their first three league games of a season, and another poor attacking display here could result in them becoming only the fifth side to fail to score in their first four Premier League games of a season.
Head-to-Head History
Villa are unbeaten in 12 Premier League H2Hs (W9, D3), and they enjoyed four wins in their final five visits to Goodison Park, keeping clean sheets on each of those occasions.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Everton are looking to win 3+ successive home league games for the first time since May 2024 (5).
Since the start of May, no side has won more Premier League points than Everton (16 – W5, D1, L1).
Villa have scored more than once away at Everton just two times in nine visits.
Villa have conceded inside 30 minutes in each of their last two league games.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Former Villa hero Jack Grealish (A4), now of Everton, could make Premier League history here as no player has previously assisted 2+ goals in three successive matches. New recruit Harvey Elliott, who's on loan from Everton's bitter rivals Liverpool, could make his Villa debut here. He was involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League starts (G2, A5).
Everton look like they will be without Vitalii Mykolenko after the left-back withdrew from Ukraine’s international camp, while Villa could be without Matty Cash who was forced off with an injury concern at half-time for Poland this week. He’ll potentially be sidelined along with the likes of Boubacar Kamara and former Everton duo Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley.
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Betting Analysis
Given their poor recent H2H record, this looks set to be a true test of Everton’s improvements this season, but with Villa’s current struggles, we expect them to pass with flying colours - Everton to win to nil is our bet for this one!
Author: David H