Aston Villa vs Everton: Match preview, predicted line-ups, head-to-head record, key players, and match prediction
Aston Villa take on Everton at Villa Park this Saturday (5:30 pm kick-off) hoping to make it three wins from four at the beginning of the new Premier League season. Everton meanwhile will be hoping to gain their first point(s) after losing their opening three fixtures. Amadou Onana and Tim Iroegbunam will be facing their old teams for the first time after their summer transfers from Everton to Villa and vice versa.
Head-to-Head record
As it is often mentioned during commentary when these two teams meet, the Villans and the Toffees have faced off more often in English footballer than any other two teams. Since the two sides first met in 1888, they have played each other 231 times.
Focusing on more recent times, Villa have lost just once to Everton in their last ten meetings and that defeat came in last season's Carabao Cup. In terms of Premier League meetings, Villa possesses a healthy record against the Merseyside outfit. Villa are unbeaten in their last ten Premier League games against Everton, winning seven and drawing three.
Everton have not beaten Villa in the league since March 2016, when goals from Ramiro Mori, Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku secured a 3-1 win against a Villa side who had their relegation to the Championship confirmed just a matter of weeks later.
Last season, Aston Villa beat Everton 4-0 in their first home game of the season. Goals from John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, and Jhon Duran secured a thumping win for the home side. In the reverse fixture at Goodison Park in January, the Toffees managed to hold Villa to a goalless draw.
Everton's early season struggles
Everton have had a dreadful start to the 2024/25 season, losing all three of their fixtures so far. A 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton on the opening day quickly dampened the optimistic hopes for the new season amongst the Everton fans and that was made worse by the 4-0 hammering by Tottenham Hotspur and agonising defeat at home to Bournemouth. The Toffees were 2-0 up against the Cherries at Goodison Park with just four minutes plus stoppage time to play, but the home side conceded three goals during an incredible collapse to gift the points to the visitors.
Everton possesses the second highest number of Expected Goals Against (xGA) based on the number of chances conceded (behind Ipswich Town) and the third-lowest shots on target percentage (27%). The team have severely missed star player Jarrad Branthwaite at centre-half through injury, and Villa will likely put the Everton defense under heavy scrutiny too this weekend. Their visit to Villa Park comes at a bad time for the club who certainly view Villa as a bogey side based on previous meetings.
Team news
Both clubs are suffering from early-season injury troubles. For Villa, the latest blow comes after England's UEFA Nations League victory over Finland which saw Ezri Konsa forced off the pitch with an injury. It is believed that it was only a minor knock causing bruising around the shine and recovery time will be less than a week, but he will be a doubt for this match. Ollie Watkins also remains a doubt following his withdrawal from the national squad to be assessed for an 'ongoing issue'. He will likely take a late fitness test prior to the game.
Leon Bailey is likely to miss the game after sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over Leicester City. It is believed the Jamaican winger suffered a minor strain leading to at least two weeks in the physio room so it is unlikely he will be ready or be risked for the game against Everton. Right-back Matty Cash is in a similar position. Having suffered a thigh injury against Arsenal nearly three weeks ago, he has returned to gym-based training and is near a return. He will not be ready for this weekend, however.
Aston Villa fans have been overjoyed to see the return of both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara to full first-team training in the last couple of weeks, and both will be hoping to return to the matchday squad by the end of the month. Emi Buendia will be hoping to make his first Premier League appearance since May last year after recovering from his ACL troubles.
For Everton, Jarrad Branthwaite is nearing a return to training following surgery on a groin injury. He will of course not be ready for the match at Villa Park. Captain Seamus Coleman is also a major doubt after he limped off during Ireland's defeat to England at the weekend. The 35-year-old suffered an injury to his achilles following a clash with Harry Maguire and is now unlikely to be fit for the weekend.
Everton's new signing Armando Broja will also miss the visit to Villa Park as he continues to recover from the achilles injury suffered in August. Young Scottish defender Nathan Patterson and forward Youssef Chermiti will also miss the game through injury. Former Villa hero Ashley Young will likely start in defence for Everton after serving his ban following a red card in the season's opening game against Brighton.
Key players to watch out for
For Villa, both Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey have made an excellent start to the season. Rogers has impressed with his destructive ball-carrying and his performance against Arsenal saw him compared to New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp. Rogers is yet to score this season despite having a few good chances and will be looking to get off the mark this weekend. He will also be full of confidence after scoring a brace for England Under-21's in their 4-1 win over Austria on Monday.
Jacob Ramsey has come off the bench in all three of Villa's fixtures so far and provided two assists already. After suffering ongoing injury problems last season, Ramsey is looking back to his best, and whether he starts the game or comes on as a substitute he will likely have a key part to play. Similar to Rogers, Ramsey possesses an incredible ball-carrying ability and his pace and trickery on the ball is likely to cause problems for an Everton defensive line that has shipped ten goals already this term.
For Everton, Jordan Pickford will need to be on top form if Everton are going to leave Villa Park with any points. Having conceded a huge number of goals already this season, the likes of Rogers, Watkins, Duran and Ramsey will be licking their lips at the thought of attacking the Everton goal. Therefore, the England No.1 will need to be at his very best.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is often the man Everton turn to in their search for goals and has scored twice against Villa in the past. The Englishman has 55 Premier League goals to his name and came close to a move to Newcastle United in the summer. However, the deal collapsed and he remains the Toffees leading forward. He will look to use his ability in the air to his advantage against Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa who are weak centre-halves in terms of aerial prowess.
Predicted line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez, Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey, Duran
Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Iroegbunam, Gueye, Harrison, Ndiaye, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin
Match prediction
Despite having some injury concerns, it is difficult to see anything other than a win for the home side based on both team's early season form and head-to-head record in recent years. Villa has played excellently in all three of their games so far, playing attacking and exciting football and constantly creating goal-scoring opportunities. Everton, on the other hand, looks extremely vulnerable at the back and hasn't posed a huge threat at the other end either. Villa will go into this game full of confidence and excitement with their first UEFA Champions League fixture following on Tuesday.
Aston Villa 3-0 Everton (Duran, Rogers, Tielemans)