At A Glance
Aston Villa take on one of the Premier League’s fast starters at Villa Park on Saturday.
Everton are unbeaten in their first four league matches, winning three times and drawing once under new manager Rafa Benitez.
The Toffees are one of only four top-flight sides to hit double figures for goals this term, finding the net three times in their last outing against Burnley (3-1).
Demarai Gray and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are Everton’s joint-top scorers with three goals apiece.
Villa come into the game following a 3-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, although the performance gave plenty of cause for optimism.
Dean Smith’s side have picked up four points from their two home games this term, with the last match at Villa Park finishing 1-1 against Brentford.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa are unbeaten in four league games against Everton, winning two and drawing two. They’d only won two of their previous 15 Premier League meetings with the Toffees (D7 L6).
Everton have won three of their last six away league games against Aston Villa (D1 L2), as many as they had in their previous 29 visits to Villa Park (W3 D12 L14).
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four Premier League home games (W2 D2), last going longer without defeat at Villa Park in the competition in January 2015 under Paul Lambert (5 games).
Everton have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League away games (W10 D5), with those defeats coming at Chelsea and Manchester City last season. The Toffees have recorded seven clean sheets in their last 10 away league games, as many as in their previous 33 on the road.
Everton are unbeaten so far this season, winning three and drawing one of their four games. The Toffees were unbeaten in their first five league games last term, but have never done so in consecutive campaigns in their league history.
Aston Villa striker Danny Ings has scored five Premier League goals against Everton – against no side has he scored more in the competition. The Toffees are the only club against which Ings has scored for all three of his previous top-flight clubs (Burnley, Liverpool and Southampton).
Everton manager Rafael Benítez has lost just one of his 17 games against Aston Villa in all competitions (W10 D6), while the Spaniard has never lost at Villa Park (W4 D5).
Andros Townsend has been involved in three goals in his four Premier League games for Everton this season (1 goal, 2 assists), as many as he had in his previous 31 for Crystal Palace in the competition (3 assists).
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa and Everton played out a goalless draw in their last meeting, coming at Villa Park in May.
However, the draw saw Villa move on to 49 points – their highest tally since 2009/10 when the club finished sixth in the Premier League.
And the hard-fought clean sheet, Villa's 15th in the top flight, meant Emiliano Martínez drew level with Brad Friedel's club-record from the same season.
Team News
Dean Smith says he'll make a decision on the inclusion of Emi Martínez and Emi Buendía when they return to the squad on Saturday morning.
However, the Villa boss will be without Carney Chukwuemeka and Jaden Philogene-Bidace due to injury.
Everton will be without talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin and former Villan Fabian Delph through injury.
James Rodriguez is in contention to return to the Toffees' squad.
The Boss
“Like ourselves, they won the first four games and they’ve started unbeaten this season as well. It’s certainly a challenge. I’m full of respect for Rafa Benitez. He’s an experienced coach and he understands this league at this level. Over the last couple of seasons since we’ve been back in the Premier League, we’ve got a really good record against them. Hopefully that can continue.”
Dean Smith
