MX23RW : Monday, November 25 20:00:40| >> :600:99059:99059:
[monks data]
Everton logo
Premier League
Feb 1, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Aston Villa logo

2-1

Naismith (74'), Mirallas (85')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Bacuna (34')

Preview: Everton vs. Aston Villa

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between Everton and Aston Villa, who meet at Goodison Park after contrasting fortunes in midweek derbies.

Two teams that enjoyed contrasting derby fortunes in midweek meet at Goodison Park on Saturday as Everton entertain Aston Villa.

The Toffees were thrashed 4-0 by Merseyside and top-four rivals Liverpool on Tuesday while Paul Lambert's men came from two goals down to beat West Bromwich Albion in a seven-goal thriller 24 hours later.

Each side has won 72 of the 197 league matches that they have played against each other, but, surprisingly, Villa have had the better of things since the inception of the Premier League, tasting victory twice as many times as Everton.

The hosts will be without Romelu Lukaku, who has been ruled out for several weeks with an ankle injury, so 6'8" Monaco loanee Lacina Traore could make his English football debut in attack.

Bryan Oviedo will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg while Arouna Kone and Darron Gibson are other long-term absentees for Roberto Martinez, who is also likely to be without Seamus Coleman and Sylvain Distin, both of whom were unavailable for their miserable trip to Anfield.

Distin, 36, signed a one-year extension with the Toffees this week, while Leighton Baines was another to commit himself to the cause and he will commence his left-wing partnership with Steven Pienaar.

Lambert could name an unchanged starting XI from the one that overturned their early deficit against the Baggies, with Christian Benteke firmly back in goalscoring form having netted three goals in three games.

Leandro Bacuna was employed in a more advanced role on Wednesday when he scored his third of the season, so, if Gabriel Agbonlahor fails a late fitness test on a foot problem, he may continue on the wing, with Matthew Lowton poised to be maintained in the Dutchman's usual right-back berth.

Recent form

Everton: LWDWWD

Villa: WDLLWD

Possible starting lineups

Everton: Howard; Stones, Alcaraz, Jagielka, Baines; Mirallas, Barry, McCarthy, Pienaar; Barkley; Traore

Villa: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Bertrand; El Ahmadi, Delph, Westwood; Weimann, Bacuna, Benteke

Sports Mole says: 2-2


ID:133998: cacheID:133998:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5475:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Preston North End manager Graham Westley shouts instructions to his team during the npower League One match between Preston North End and MK Dons at Deepdale on October 14, 2012
Read Next:
Preview: Stevenage vs. Everton
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!