Aston Villa will be looking to extend a streak to 11 matches when they play host to Everton in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
After a summer transfer window that featured upheaval to comply with the financial regulations, Unai Emery will be happy to press on with matters on the pitch.
Despite losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal, Villa can be more than satisfied with their start to the campaign having recorded away victories at West Ham United and Leicester City.
On both occasions, Jhon Duran netted the winning goal, putting himself in contention to dislodge Ollie Watkins from the starting lineup over the coming weeks.
If Duran gets the nod over the England international this weekend, he will be tasked with helping Villa prolonged a streak against the Toffees.
© Imago
Villa dominant against Everton
Villa have just commenced their sixth season back in the Premier League having won the Championship playoffs back in 2018-19.
Since then, the West Midlands outfit have not lost to Everton in a single top-flight fixture, putting together a run of seven victories and three draws.
Furthermore, Villa have kept seven clean sheets and conceded just the three goals, Everton scoring just once in their last five league visits to Villa Park.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that Everton are unbeaten versus Villa in their last two fixtures in all competitions, including the Toffees prevailing 2-1 in EFL Cup tie on away territory just under 12 months ago.
A goalless draw was then played out at Goodison Park in January, with Everton now scoring just once in their last seven Premier League fixtures against these opponents.
© Imago
Everton bidding to change fortunes
Before the international break, Everton had been well on their way to getting a priceless victory on the board against Bournemouth, only for the Cherries to produce arguably the greatest turnaround in Premier League history.
Sean Dyche's side have now lost all three of their league matches this season. Only on two occasions - and not since 1958-59 - have they started a top-flight campaign with a longer losing run.
Everton also have a dismal record when it comes to matches played after an international break, as defeats have been posted in eight of the past 10 such occasions.
Darren Plant
