Everton and Aston Villa will meet once again in the most-played English league fixture of all time at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.
The history of these two founding members of the English Football League goes all the way back to 1888, in a fixture that has been played on 213 previous occasions, including on the third weekend of the very first league season, where Villa won 2-1.
Including cup meetings, the two have crossed paths 232 times, and despite being harshly excluded from the widely-accepted modern 'top six' gimmick, both have long, illustrious histories, while also suffering major dips in recent years.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 232
Everton wins: 83
Draws: 61
Aston Villa wins: 88
While there is very little to choose between the sides in the overall head-to-head record, Everton's recent form against Aston Villa has swayed it in favour of the Villans.
The Toffees are winless in 11 league meetings against Villa, losing eight, failing to register a victory in this fixture since Roberto Martinez's reign back in 2016.
That record should have come to an end in September 2024, when Everton led 2-0 at Villa Park, but conspired to lose with Jhon Duran's sensational long-range strike completing a remarkable turnaround.
While that is a woeful record, it pales in comparison to how Everton performed in the fixture between 1993 and 2001, where they only managed one win in 18 meetings.
That is in stark contrast to how Everton fared between 2011 until Villa's relegation though, when the Toffees lost just once in 11 head-to-heads, winning home and away when the Villans went down in 2015-16, by a combined score of 7-1.
For decades though, there was nothing to split the two, including in the late 2000s when both tussled to break into the top four, but often had to settle for fifth and sixth.
That era produced possibly the best game between the two, when Villa went to Goodison Park in 2008 and came away with a dramatic victory, winning 3-2.
© Imago
The visitors led twice, but future Villa man Joleon Lescott scored a 93rd-minute equaliser and threw his shirt at the away supporters, only for future Everton player Ashley Young to go up the other end, dribble past Lescott, and slot home a sensational winner.
At the peak of their powers in the mid-1980s, Everton did reign supreme in the fixture, going undefeated in eight matches between 1983 and 1987, winning five, but it has been Villa who have gotten the better of their opponents in the two most important previous meetings.
Villa beat Everton in the 1897 FA Cup final, and 80 years later, repeated the feat in an exhausting League Cup final which required two replays to decide a winner.
A 0-0 draw at Wembley led to a replay which too ended level after extra time, and the second replay also went the distance, but Brian Little notched the winner on 119 minutes in the only League Cup final to require three matches to complete.
The two met in the semi-finals of the same competition seven years later, but this time it was Everton who came out on top, hanging on for a 2-1 aggregate win, only to lose against rivals Liverpool in the subsequent final.
FA Cup meetings have been few and far between, but the most recent have both been important for either side, as Villa won at Goodison in the quarter-finals in 2000 on their way to final, while Everton also featured in the showpiece event in 2009 after beating Villa in the fifth round, but both ultimately lost to Chelsea at Wembley.
Last 20 meetings
Sep 14, 2024: Aston Villa 3-2 Everton (Premier League)
Jan 14, 2024: Everton 0-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Sep 27, 2023: Aston Villa 1-2 Everton (EFL Cup Third Round)
Aug 20, 2023: Aston Villa 4-0 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 25, 2023: Everton 0-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Aug 13, 2022: Aston Villa 2-1 Everton (Premier League)
Jan 22, 2022: Everton 0-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Sep 18, 2021: Aston Villa 3-0 Everton (Premier League)
May 13, 2021: Aston Villa 0-0 Everton (Premier League)
May 01, 2021: Everton 1-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Jul 16, 2020: Everton 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Aug 23, 2019: Aston Villa 2-0 Everton (Premier League)
Mar 01, 2016: Aston Villa 1-3 Everton (Premier League)
Nov 21, 2015: Everton 4-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
May 02, 2015: Aston Villa 3-2 Everton (Premier League)
Oct 18, 2014: Everton 3-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Feb 01, 2014: Everton 2-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Oct 26, 2013: Aston Villa 0-2 Everton (Premier League)
Feb 02, 2013: Everton 3-3 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Aug 25, 2012: Aston Villa 1-3 Everton (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Sep 14, 2024: Aston Villa 3-2 Everton
Jan 14, 2024: Everton 0-0 Aston Villa
Aug 20, 2023: Aston Villa 4-0 Everton
Feb 25, 2023: Everton 0-2 Aston Villa
Aug 13, 2022: Aston Villa 2-1 Everton
Jan 22, 2022: Everton 0-1 Aston Villa
Sep 18, 2021: Aston Villa 3-0 Everton
May 13, 2021: Aston Villa 0-0 Everton
May 01, 2021: Everton 1-2 Aston Villa
Jul 16, 2020: Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
Andrew Delaney
