Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will look to build on their recent win over Chelsea when they host Everton in the third round of the EFL Cup.
Everton will hit the road to square up against Aston Villa in the third round of the EFL Cup. Both the teams are heading into this fixture on the back of a win and will look to add to it.
Aston Villa are well placed on the points table in the Premier League, but they have not been consistent enough. They are currently sixth on the table with 12 points in their six outings. They have won four fixtures and have suffered defeats on two occasions.
After a defeat at the hands of Legia Warszawa in the UEFA Europa Conference League, they managed to bounce back with a win over Chelsea in the Premier League. The home team will be heading into this match against Everton high on confidence and will look to seal another win.
The Merseyside club has been struggling in the new season. They have lost four of their six league games and have only won once so far. The visitors have only accumulated four points so far and are 15th on the points table.
However, their only league win came in their last outing when they managed to defeat Brentford 3-1. Everton dominated the proceedings and were the better team on the day. They will now look to carry that form into this cup fixture against Aston Villa. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the two teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has no new injury concerns. However, he will be without the services of Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos and Timothy Iroegbunam.
See you tomorrow, Moussa. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/rY8s5cw4pl
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 26, 2023
While it is an all-Premier League tie against Everton, Emery is expected to make a few changes to his first choice XI. He is expected to mix up his XI but the formation will be 4-3-3. Robin Olsen could be in goal.
Calum Chambers and Lucas Digne should be the full-back pairing. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Clement Lenglet could start alongside Pau Torres. Leander Dendoncker, Jacob Ramsey and Youri Tielemans will be three in the centre of the park. The trio will look to keep possession and dictate the tempo of this game.
Summer signing Moussa Diaby will be on the right flank, while Leon Bailey will take charge on the left. Jhon Duran who has been putting in some impressive performances of late could be handed a start up top.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Olsen; Chambers, Lenglet, Torres, Digne; Ramsey, Dendoncker, Tielemans; Diaby, Duran, Bailey
Everton
Sean Dyche will be without the services of Dele Alli, Seamus Coleman and Jack Harrison. Meanwhile, Andre Gomes is expected to return to the bench.
The focus ahead of Villa test 💪
— Everton (@Everton) September 26, 2023
Dyche will stick with the 4-4-2 formation. where João Virgínia will be in goal. Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko will be the full-backs. Meanwhile, Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane will pair up in the heart of the defence.
Arnaut Danjuma and Lewis Dobbin will start out wide in the centre of the park. The duo will look to provide width to their attacks and stretch the opposition’s defence. They will also look to help out their full-backs.
Meanwhile, Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure will be in a more central role in the midfield. In attack, Dominic Calvert-Lewin will pair up with summer signing Beto.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Virginia; Patterson, Godfrey, Keane, Mykolenko; Danjuma, Onana, Doucoure, Dobbin; Beto, Calvert-Lewin
Key Stats
- Aston Villa and Everton have played each other 229 times in all competitions since 1888. The hosts have won 87 matches while the visitors have 82 wins to their name.
- Aston Villa have won their last five games against the Toffees.
- The two teams have faced each other on nine occasions in Carabao Cup.
- Unai Emery’s team have not conceded in five out of their last six games against Everton.
- Everton have not lost away from home since their 4-0 loss to Villa in the Premier League back in August.
Player to Watch
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin has not been in the best of forms of late. He has been struggling, and he is expected to start in this encounter as he looks to regain his form. He has only played 89 minutes of football this season in his three outings in the English top flight and has a goal to show for it.
But, the 26-year-old has not been as effective as he was a few years back. However, he is back fit now and will look to make a statement with an exceptional performance on the night. Calvert-Lewin could end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-1 Everton
While both teams are heading into this encounter on the back of a win, Aston Villa are in much better form. Unai Emery’s men have done well on most nights apart from a few bad outings. And, they will be confident of getting a win here.
Meanwhile, Everton have struggled and they have only won a handful of games this season. The Toffees will push for a win but they might not have enough strength to go past Villa. As a result, The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the home team.
