Everton v Aston Villa

Everton host Aston Villa on the back of scathing criticism from Carlo Ancelotti and Seamus Coleman following a pitiful performance in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Wolves.

THE OPPOSITION

Aston Villa are fighting for their Premier League lives. A victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday has given them some hope but they still face a monumental task – they’re four points from safety with just three Premier League fixtures remaining.

Last Five Results
Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester United
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Aston Villa 0-1 Wolves
Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Everton versus Aston Villa is the most played fixture in English top-flight history, with the Toffees winning 76 of the 203 previous meetings compared to Villa’s 74.

Aston Villa come away with a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture back way back in August, but Everton haven’t lost at Goodison Park to Aston Villa in all competitions dating back to December 2008.

TEAM NEWS

Mason Holgate and Andre Gomes return after injury but Yerry Mina joins Fabian Delph on the sidelines.

As for Dean Smith’s Villa, Neil Taylor (hamstring) and Kortney Hause (groin) are likely to miss the midweek trip after pulling up before and during Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace. Bjorn Engels (Achilles) remains a major doubt while Tom Heaton and Wesley – both knee ligament – are sidelined until next season.

VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITION

We went behind enemy lines to see what fans thought over at Heroes and Villains…

rob_bridge: Everton are good at home so can’t see us getting anything. Unlike Palace some of these are playing for their place next season under Ancelotti.

BoVillan esq: Going for a Villa win, all we have to do is set about this game with the same commitment as we did v Crystal Palace, should be enough, fingers crossed then looking at the teams around us would say, we lose this and its all over.

darren wooley: We need a win Everton are mid table and going nowhere so I will go 2-1 Villa win.

REFEREE

Anthony Taylor is the referee for this one. Taylor has taken charge of 32 Everton Premier League fixtures, with Everton winning 15, drawing 6 and losing 11.

Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Darren England. Replacement official: James Mainwaring. VAR: Chris Kavanagh. Assistant VAR: Dan Cook.

WHAT CHANNEL IS WOLVES V EVERTON ON

The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HD, and Sky subscribers can also stream the game on the Sky Go app.