Aston Villa vs Everton preview, team news, tickets and prediction

Aston Villa vs Everton will be a game that will see no-holds-barred action from both teams thanks to how their opening day fixtures went.

It will be especially important for Aston Villa who suffered a heavy loss to Newcastle United on opening day. The 5-1 scoreline of that game was the biggest margin on opening day. Villa fans – and many neutrals – were stunned at the outcome of the match which was billed to be a close battle with the Magpies.

That embarrassment will spur them to take to Villa Park for their first home game of the season against Everton and put on a show. Having narrowly lost to Fulham at Goodison Park in their opening-day fixture, there is no worse time for Everton to play a team like Villa who have been embarrassed and are looking to prove themselves.

Historically, there is not much separating both teams in all competitions. Villa’s win record stands at 86 while Everton’s win record stands at 82. They have 60 draws between them.

Their last eight meetings, however, are what will give Everton fans a cause for concern.

Villa’s last loss to Everton was in 2016. Since the Birmingham-based club returned to the Premier League in 2019, however, they have won six and drawn two out of eight matches. This is why the historical record between both sides does not have too much between them.

Unai Emery has the opportunity to keep the streak going when Sean Dyche leads Everton to Villa Park on Sunday 20 August 2023. The embarrassing loss to Newcastle will spur him on. He made this known to the journalists who spoke with him after the drubbing he received at St James Park.

Dyche, meanwhile, will work on his team’s goal scoring the whole week because this was the biggest issue against Fulham. Speaking after the match, the 52-year-old manager stated: "Very frustrated with the outcome. We played well and the things to bring to a performance were there.

"We limited them to no chances in the first half while creating nine or 10 chances ourselves. The mix of a performance as good, but we have to score a goal.

"It’s one of the highest chance counts since I have been here - and high-quality chances, which has always been my thing."

Villa will be weary of the threat of a sharper Everton attack while they work to become sharper themselves.

Match Tickets

The match will be played at Villa Park on Sunday 20 August 2023 at 2 PM. It is the only game at that time, so neutrals do not have to divide their attention while watching from home.

The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and all other Premier League broadcast partners around the world.

Tickets on Seatsnet are on sale at the moment on the websites. They are likely to sell out fast because of the stakes involved in the tie. Both teams are looking for their first three points of the season and both managers have made it explicitly clear that the upcoming clash will be important to both their seasons.

Fans and visiting neutrals will likely resort to ticket reselling platforms in order to sort out their ticket needs because the waiting list for tickets on both teams’ websites is going to be a long one.

Team news

The 2023 summer transfer window is still on which means that both teams can add a few more players to their squads before they meet at Villa Park on 20 August at 2pm.

Aston Villa are still hoping to sign Nicolo Zaniolo and according to reports, the club will be discussing with the player’s club and agent this week. Unai Emery could have a new attacker in the coming days and he will most likely be unleashing him against Everton. However, he has big injury issues to contend with as Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia are out of the squad with injuries.

Everton, meanwhile, have no big injury issues to deal with. However, they are looking for a new attacker and have listed five players as surplus to requirements.

Neal Maupay, who started the match against Fulham, is one of those players on the list as are Demarai Gray, Andre Gomes, Mason Holgate and Jeanne-Philippe Gbamin. Mason Holgate is also looking for an exit. Movement could happen and one or more of these players could leave Goodison Park. The only players linked to Everton are Jack Harrison of Leeds United and Beto of Udinese.

The coming week will be crucial for Dyche, who has a depleted squad to work with for the rest of August but hopefully not for the rest of the first half of the season.

Lineups

With Mings and Buendia out injured, Unai Emery will be made to rethink his tactics. Pau Torres will get his first start in the league, replacing Mings in defence and Pairing up with Ezri Konsa.

Against Newcastle, Emery played with John McGinn, new signing Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey in attack behind Ollie Watkins. He is likely to stick with this formation while preparing to bring in Youri Tielemans, Philippe Coutinho and possibly Nicolo Zaniolo off the bench.

World Cup winner Emi Martinez will keep his place in goal as he prepares to grab his first clean sheet of the season.

Aston Villa: Martinez; Digne, Torres, Konsa, Cash; Kamara, Luiz; McGinn, Diaby, Bailey; Watkins

Everton are also unlikely to change much of their starting lineup. Villa can expect to see the same players who played against Fulham take to the pitch at Villa Park because they are Dyche’s strongest XI on paper.

The only change will come in the attack because Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be reinstated in front of goal for Maupay.

This XI could change, however, if the Toffees complete signing one of either Jack Harrison or Beto. Harrison is a shoo-in for the starting XI that Dyche will roll out on 20 August and he will take the place of James Garner on the team.

Everton: Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Young; Garner, Gueye, Onana, Iwobi, Doucoure; Clavert-Lewin.

As pointed out earlier, the transfer activities of both clubs could greatly impact their starting XIs for the 20 August clash but as it stands, only the minor tweaks listed in this section can be expected.

Prediction

Aston Villa are a wounded lion with a streak against Everton to protect. They also have the home advantage, which gives them the upper hand.

The match is as straightforward as can be for Unai Emery’s men. The issue, however, will be stopping Everton from getting a goal or a draw.

Villa will attack more and Dyche will bust out his special brand of defending which has given many Premier League managers a headache in the past. Everton will look to counter-attack and this will be a problem for Villa on the occasions that it happens.

Villa, however, takes the day to keep their streak going.

Aston Villa 2-0 Everton.