Venue: Goodison Park
Date: 18/10/2014
Kick-off: 15:00 (BST)
Match
Everton welcome Aston Villa to Goodison Park on Saturday and it would not be an exaggeration to say that anything less than three points on the day would spell another disaster for the Toffees.
While Everton have not particularly performed poorly this season, they currently find themselves languishing in 17th place in the Premier League and the Toffees’ league position is a perfect illustration as to how cruel the English top flight can be.
After all football is a result based business and Everton’s good performances count for absolutely nothing if they cannot get points on the board as soon as possible.
Now Aston Villa are the visitors next for the Toffees’ and ideally one would think that it is a game which Roberto Martinez’s men should be able to win comfortably.
However, given Everton’s inability to grind out results and Aston Villa’s tremendous resilience – the match will be anything but a straightforward proposition for Martinez’s men.
From an optimistic point of view though, Everton can view the match against Aston Villa as one from which they can get a good run started as their next few fixtures are relatively easier than their ridiculously tough start to the campaign.
Everton Team News
Injuries have not particularly been kind to Everton so far this season and now John Stones joins Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas in the long term casualty list.
As a boost though, the likes of Seamus Coleman, Sylvain Distin, James McCarthy and Steven Pienaar should all be fit enough to start against Villa.
The uncharacteristically shaky looking Tim Howard will be in goal for Everton while the defence ahead of him should consist of Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka and the returning Seamus Coleman.
James McCarthy should also return to the lineup after missing out against Manchester United a fortnight ago and the young man will be partnering the evergreen Gareth Barry at the heart of the midfield.
With the absence of Kevin Mirallas, Steven Pienaar and Aiden McGeady should continue on the wings while Steven Naismith looks a certain starter in the hole behind the striker, who is set to be Romelu Lukaku.
The likes of Leon Osman, Bryan Oviedo, Samuel Eto’o and Muhamed Besic should all be in contention for a start as well.
Probable Lineups
Everton (Probable XI): Howard; Baines, Stones, Jagielka, Coleman; Pienaar, Barry, Naismith, McCarthy, McGeady; Lukaku
Aston Villa (Probable XI): Guzan; Cissokho, Baker, Senderos, Hutton; Delph, Cleverley, Westwood; Weimann, Benteke, Agbonlahor
Form
Everton: L L D D L
Aston Villa: W W L L L
Last Meeting
01/02/2014 Everton 2 – 1 Aston Villa
26/10/2013 Aston Villa 0 – 2 Everton
Prediction
Everton are undefeated against Aston Villa in their last seven Premier League encounters and should head into the game on Saturday as favourites as well – despite their poor run of form recently.
As stated before, Everton are not playing badly – it is just the results that have eluded them so far this season. However, the Toffees cannot use this as an excuse for too long as another poor result on the weekend could ring alarm bells at Goodison Park.
Aston Villa also do not find themselves in the best of forms after having suffered three consecutive defeats without registering a single goal but in all fairness, their opponents were Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Discounting their last three results, Villa have enjoyed a magnificent season and Paul Lambert’s men have proven that they are a very resilient bunch – especially against sides like Everton who base their game on possession play.
Therefore, the match is set to be a very tough one for Everton and it will be of paramount importance for the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Steven Naismith and Aiden McGeady to perform at their best in order to break down the tough Villa backline.
From a defensive point of view, the return of Coleman and Distin will be a big boost but the duo and in general the entire Everton backline have to do well in order to keep the likes of Christian Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann quiet.
The match will be a tightly fought contest but Everton should be able to end their slump by claiming a narrow victory on the day.
Everton 2 – 1 Aston Villa
