Seeking a third successive Premier League home win under the tutelage of Sean Dyche, Everton welcome Aston Villa to Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Toffees boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 success over Leeds United last time out, while Unai Emery's men suffered a dramatic late 4-2 defeat to league leaders Arsenal.
Match preview
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Insisting that he meant his sensational strike against Leeds last weekend, Everton captain Seamus Coleman came up with the telling contribution in a fiery basement battle against Leeds, who demotion fears deepened as Everton moved that little bit closer to safety.
With 64 minutes on the clock, Coleman caught Illan Meslier off his line, and his sweetly-struck cross-cum-shot from a tight angle found the back of the net before the dogged Dyche-marshalled defence kept the Whites at bay for the remainder of the match.
Leaving the bottom three in their wake, Everton have risen up to 16th in the Premier League table courtesy of their narrow home wins over Arsenal and Leeds, but they are still just one point clear of the drop zone and will be dragged back into danger if results do not go their way this weekend.
Not since the pre-COVID days of August 2019 have Everton won three successive Premier League home games without conceding, and trying to get one over Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield was still a step too far for the Toffees, but optimism is slowly rising.
Each of Everton's last five home games in the Premier League has seen the Toffees score exactly one goal, but a paltry total of 17 throughout the campaign is the joint-worst record in the division - only Wolverhampton Wanderers have also been as shot-shy.
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Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery was left less than impressed with ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez following Saturday's game at Villa Park, where the Lions went ahead twice against the league leaders but felt the full force of the Gunners' affinity for comeback wins.
Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho scored either side of responses from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko, and in the third minute of second-half injury time, Jorginho's long-range effort cannoned off the bar before comically bouncing in off the head of Martinez, whose time-wasting antics came back to bite him.
The Argentine would try to make himself a hero by going up for a last-minute corner, but Arsenal cleared and sent Gabriel Martinelli on his way to tap home into an empty net, leading a seething Emery to chastise Martinez for darting upfield without instruction from his superiors.
Having incredibly lost two successive home games by 4-2 scorelines - either side of a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City - Villa's top-half hopes have suffered a blow as they lie 11th in the table, although an ailing Chelsea are only three points clear in 10th spot.
Emery's side had clinched three away wins on the bounce before being put to the sword at the Etihad Stadium, though, and they are unbeaten in seven Premier League games against Everton - winning each of their last three - but attempts to break down Dyche's defence at Goodison Park have proven futile so far.
Team News
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Everton's triumph over Leeds would have been the perfect afternoon had Amadou Onana not gone off with a knee injury, but both player and manager are reportedly confident that the key midfielder has not suffered a serious problem - James Garner may also be able to make an appearance too.
On a more negative note, Dyche is not expecting Dominic Calvert-Lewin back from a thigh issue as he attempts to get to the bottom of the striker's persistent fitness concerns - going so far as to investigate the striker's mattress and sleep patterns - while Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson are also out, with the latter recently suffering a setback in his recovery from a knee problem.
Neal Maupay should continue to hold the fort up front while Calvert-Lewin recovers, and Dyche could become the first-ever Everton boss to win each of his first three home league games without conceding.
As for Villa, Diego Carlos is being put through his paces in training after several months of rehabilitation from Achilles surgery, but the Brazilian still needs more time to get up to speed and will not be ready to make his comeback here.
Goalkeepers Robin Olsen and Jed Steer are also occupying beds in the infirmary, so Martinez will be in no danger of losing his spot despite being publicly criticised by his manager, but Villa are said to be open to summer offers for their number one.
Coutinho should be in line for another start after repaying Emery's faith in him against Arsenal - the ex-Liverpool man can expect a frosty reception at Goodison - while Watkins has scored in each of his last four Premier League games and could become the first player in Villa's history to do so five times in a row.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; McNeil, Onana, Gueye, Doucoure, Iwobi; Maupay
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho
We say: Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
With both of Everton's goals under Dyche so far coming from defenders, the Toffees' prolonged lack of threat in the final third will likely deny them a third successive home win, even if Villa's defending has left a lot to be desired recently.
In contrast, the Lions are proving consistently potent in the final third as Watkins continues his hot streak, but the Toffees defence can once again star for their side in a hard-fought draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
