Everton will be hosting Aston Villa on Saturday. The fixture will take place at 6:00 pm IST on 22 January at Goodison Park. The Merseyside club will play their 20th match of the league while Aston will play their 21st. The Toffees are 4 points behind Aston Villa and can close the gap with a win on Saturday.
Everton are 16th on the Premier League table and that is not a position for a club like Everton. They recently lost 2-1 to relegation battling Norwich City. The Toffees are not in their best form and they have to change some things in order to find a good rhythm. They have to get a series of wins to get their season on track. Everton fans will be eager to see how their team fares under the new caretaker manager.
Everton Premier League form: W L D L L
Aston Villa have been performing well under Gerrard and have recently came back from 2 goal deficit to draw the game against Manchester United. Moreover, the recent signing of Philippe Coutinho can give them the upper hand against Everton. Villa are 13th on the Premier League table and will want to punch further in the later stages of the season.
Aston Villa Premier League form: L W L L D
Team News
Everton vs Aston Villa: The Toffees team news
Anwar El-Ghazi won’t be available against his parent club while Jarrad Branthwaite is reportedly back in training. However, Fabian Delph and Allan may miss the clash against Villa due to illness. Alex Iwobi has also departed for AFCON and won’t be available for selection.
Tom Davies cannot return and needs at least a month to recover from his thigh injury. In addition, Richarlison is likely to replace Solomon Rondon in the lineup while Andros Townsend is also in contention to start.
Everton possible starting lineup
Jordan Pickford; Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina, Michael Keane, Vitalii Mykolenko; Andros Townsend, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, Demarai Gray; Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Aston Villa vs Everton: The Lions team news
Two players from the Aston Villa squad remain busy with AFCON and they are Trezegeut and Bertrand Traore. In addition, Ezri Konsa came off from a hip injury and is a doubt against Everton. Marvelous Nakamba and Leon Bailey still remain sidelined and unlikely to face the Toffees.
However, there is one good piece of news for Villa as John McGinn will return from his one-match suspension. Also, he is expected to replace Morgan Sanson in the lineup. Moreover, Coutinho can challenge for the spot of Danny Ings if he is fully fit and Lucas Digne may feature against former club.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup
Emi Martinez; Matty Cash, Kortney Hause, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey; Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Phillipe Coutinho
Our Predicitions
Everton 1-2 Aston Villa
Everton have appointed Duncan Ferguson as their caretaker manager and will be playing their first match under him against Villa. However, it will be a tough ask to get the team to play their best football in such a short span of time. Gerrard has got more time and seems to have a hold over his team and is likely to get a result at Goodison Park.
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