At A Glance
Aston Villa travel to Goodison Park on Sunday for their first Premier League game of 2024.
Unai Emery’s team have lost just once in their past nine top flight matches heading into the clash against Everton.
The Villans took their fine league form into the FA Cup last time out, beating Middlesbrough 1-0 to begin the year on a positive note.
A ten point deduction has left the Toffees battling at the wrong end of the table this season.
Sean Dyche’s team would be comfortably clear of the bottom three after winning eight of their first 20 league matches.
However, a run of three consecutive defeats to end 2023 has left them looking over their shoulders ahead of Sunday’s game.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa have won five consecutive Premier League games against Everton. They have only had longer winning streaks in the division versus Coventry City (seven) and Birmingham City (six).
Everton have lost their opening Premier League game in each of the previous six calendar years since a 3-0 home victory against Southampton in 2017.
Villa are unbeaten in all nine Premier League meetings since returning to the top flight in 2019.
The Toffees' tally of eight league wins already matches their total for last season.
Villa have the best Premier League home record this season but based solely on away fixtures they would be seventh, with 14 points from 30.
Sean Dyche's side have lost all five Premier League fixtures this season against the teams currently in the top five of the table.
Villa amassed 85 points in 2023, second only to Manchester City's 93. The Villans set a club record of 26 top-flight wins in a calendar year.
Seamus Coleman needs to make one more appearance to become Everton's outright record holder in the Premier League. He is currently level with Tim Howard on 354 games.
Villa can score multiple goals in five successive Premier League away matches for the second time, after a run of six from April to September 2008 (including a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park).
Douglas Luiz's late penalty winner against Burnley was the seventh league goal this season that Villa have scored in the 89th minute or later, the joint most of any side along with Liverpool. Three have been scored by Douglas Luiz, the joint most by a player, along with Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo.
Since Dyche's first game in charge of Everton in February 2023, James Tarkowski has blocked more shots than any other player (62), made the second-most clearances (174) and third-most headed clearances (98).
Aston Villa begin a match round in the top two of the Premier League table after the turn of the year for the first time since January 1999. They went on to finish sixth that season.
Unai Emery is averaging 2.02 points per game in the Premier League with Aston Villa: 91 points from 45 games. He is the only manager in Premier League history to manage 40-plus games with a club and have an average of two or more points but not to have won the title with that side.
The Last Meeting
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Everton gained revenge for a heavy Premier League defeat at Villa Park a few weeks earlier by knocking Unai Emery’s team out of the Carabao Cup.
James Garner thrashed a shot past Robin Olsen to give the visitors a first half lead before Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubled their lead.
Boubacar Kamara’s first goal for the club offered hope but late chances went begging as Villa lost 2-1.
Team News
Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres and Robin Olsen have all returned to training ahead of the match.
However, Villa remain without the injured Lucas Digne and Bertrand Traoré, who is competing for Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is free to play after having his FA Cup red card rescinded, while Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ashley Young may return from injury.
Dwight McNeil is unlikely to feature and Idrissa Gueye is with Senegal at the AFCON.
The Boss
“They are team that when we analyse them and their data, they shoot a lot, they cross a lot and they get a lot of corners offensively. Sometimes they are playing in combinations, sometimes with long balls, winning second action and getting a lot of players in the opponent’s box. I’m expecting it. It will be difficult. We have to defend strongly, we have to control with our positioning on the pitch with our players and try to impose our style, idea and gameplan. We have to compete. Competing on Sunday means adapting to them. They are going to play pressing us a lot and demanding a lot from us defensively.”
Unai Emery
