Everton line-ups as Ashley Young and Abdoulaye Doucoure decisions made for Aston Villa.
Our writers pick their preferred XIs for the clash in the Midlands on Saturday evening
Sean Dyche, manager of Everton, gestures toward Ashley Young after he receives a red card during the Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park
Everton are back in action on Saturday night. The Blues travel to Aston Villa looking to pick up their first point in the Premier League this season, having lost all three of their first top-flight games.
Villa Park will be a difficult place to get up and running though, as they have been one of the best teams in the division since Unai Emery’s arrival. Villa finished fourth last season and will compete in the Champions League as a result.
The fixture will be a big one for two players in particular – Amadou Onana and Tim Iroegbunam. The former joined Villa from Everton in the summer, while the latter went in the opposite direction. Both players have enjoyed strong starts to the season.
But how will Sean Dyche set up the Toffees for this tricky encounter? Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley make their picks below.
Joe Thomas
This is going to be a tough trip, as they often seem to be when Villa Park is the destination. Now, in fairness, Everton were excellent for a long time against Bournemouth. And Villa was a turning point last season when Everton won there in the Carabao Cup. But I do wonder if the performance is as important as the result today – another collapse would take a heavy toll on the club and supporters.
I would continue with Michael Keane at the back, I don’t think the defeats so far have been his fault and his experience remains important. If Seamus Coleman loses his fitness battle then I would plump for Ashley Young, just to try to be as solid as possible.
In the middle I would start Abdoulaye Doucoure alongside Idrissa Gueye in the hope of providing a solid base from which Iliman Ndiaye can operate in front of to ensure Dominic Calvert-Lewin does not get too isolated. Ndiaye has to start for me.
Chris Beesley
Having endured a shocking, late collapse against Bournemouth last time out and a 4-0 thrashing in their most recent away game, the hope for an Everton side that have shipped 10 goals in their opening three Premier League fixtures as they return to the scene of another 4-0 shellacking last term would be that defensive reinforcements are on the horizon. In 2023/24, only runners-up Arsenal kept more clean sheets than the Blues but that solidity at the back has not been there in the current campaign so far.
