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Time for some pre-match thoughts from Unai Emery: “We’re trying to be consistent, and we have to try and improve away, that’s clear. It’s always difficult to play at Goodison Park, [Everton] with a new coach … we have to try and be competitive, use our skill, try and get a clean sheet and win the match.”
“I thought Sean Dyche was hard done by, but I am praying Moyes can keep us up like Dyche did,” writes Mary Waltz. “Very early days but I’m not seeing much change in tactics and he is facing the same problems Dyche had, mainly a severe shortage of striking talent. Here is hoping I am completely wrong, COYB.”
There’s plenty more going on beyond the Premier League tonight: in the Championship, Blackburn host Portsmouth while in a pleasing piece of symmetry, the same fixture features in the Women’s FA Cup fourth round, alongside Leicester v Stoke.
In Scotland, Rangers welcome Aberdeen with both teams desperate for a win. In Italy, Inter host Bologna and there are five Bundesliga fixtures including Bayern Munich v Hoffenheim. I’ll do my best to provide updates, or you can follow our live scores page.
“I’m looking forward to it, it’s something I’d always hoped I’d get the opportunity to do,” says Everton’s David Moyes. “Sentiment out the window now, and it’s down to business. It’s been a whirlwind the last couple of days … the players understand there’s a bit of ownership, how much this football club means to people. Tonight, we’re asking for them to give just a little bit more.”
You may have noticed that I’ve failed to mention Wednesday night’s other Premier League game. You can follow Arsenal v Tottenham with Scott Murray here:
Alexander Isak is seeking to score for the eighth straight Premier League game in a row; if he does, he’ll join an exclusive club that includes Van Nistelrooy (twice), Jamie Vardy (twice) and Daniel Sturridge.
Aiming to stop his run will be new Wolves recruit Emmanuel Agbadou, who makes his Premier League debut after playing all 90 minutes in the FA Cup win over Bristol City.
Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is hoping the 6-2 FA Cup rout of QPR will boost morale: “We’ve been talking about recent results, and breaking the cycle. We were able to rest some players, taking them off early because of the score. It’s important to start climbing, start collecting points. Our performances have been decent, but individual mistakes have cost us.”
Team news: Newcastle v Wolves
Newcastle (4-3-3): Dubravka; Livramento, Botman, Burn, Hall; Guimarães, Tonali, Joelinton; Jacob Murphy, Isak, Gordon. Subs: Vlachodimos, Trippier, Krafth, Osula, Almirón, Kelly, Willock, Longstaff, Miley.
Wolves (3-4-2-1): Jose Sá; Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou; Rodrigo Gomes, André Trindade, João Gomes, Aït-Nouri; Guedes, Hwang; Larsen.
Subs: Johnstone, Cunha, Dawson, Doyle, Sarabia, Nelson Semedo, Forbs, Bellegarde, Pedro Lima.
Team news: Leicester v Crystal Palace
Leicester (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Soumaré, Winks; Buonanotte, El Khannous, Mavididi; Vardy.
Subs: Iversen, Coady, De Cordova-Reid, Choudhury, Ayew, Daka, Skipp, Thomas, McAteer.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Muñoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.
Subs: Turner, Nketiah, Schlupp, Clyne, Kamada, Doucoure, Riad, Devenny, Kporha.
No sweeping changes from David Moyes, who sticks with the back five that Sean Dyche sent out against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. With Armando Broja injured, Moyes starts Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front and opts for Jack Harrison over Jesper Lindstrøm out wide.
As for Villa, seven of the team who started against West Ham in the FA Cup stay in the starting XI, with John McGinn still out with a hamstring injury. Both teams could line up in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, depending on how adventurous their managers are feeling.
Everton v Aston Villa: team news
Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Mangala, Gueye, Doucouré; Harrison, Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Virginia, Begovic, Patterson, Keane, Beto, O’Brien, Lindstrom, Armstrong, Sherif.
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans; Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins.
Subs: Gauci, Olsen, Dúran, Buendia, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey, Jimoh.
Preamble
David Moyes last managed an Everton side in the Premier League on 12 May 2013, when his team defeated West Ham to secure sixth place, one spot above Liverpool. While he headed off to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Everton missed out on Europe because Wigan Athletic and Swansea City won the domestic Cups. Bill Kenwright tried to sugar the pill by appointing the Wigan manager, Roberto Martínez, as Moyes’ replacement.
Tonight’s opponents, Aston Villa, have dropped down to the Championship, come back up and finished in the top four in the 12 years since Moyes’ departure. As for the other teams in action tonight: Crystal Palace came fifth and won the playoffs in 2013, finishing one place above Leicester, who won the Championship the following year and then the ruddy Premier League in 2015-16.
Newcastle were mired in the Mike Ashley era and have since gone down, bounced back up and become a Saudi-backed powerhouse; Wolves were relegated from the second tier a week before Moyes’ departure and subsequently climbed back to the Premier League. Meanwhile, Everton have bobbed about like a stray football in the Mersey, sinking from fifth in Martínez’s first season into a perpetual relegation battle.
Moyes insists he has not come back to Everton almost 12 years later to get stuck in a survival dogfight, though whether he has the skill and resources to give himself a choice is another matter. Nobody knows how his unexpected return to Goodison will pan out, but there is enough mutual goodwill in the bank to earn him a warm welcome back.
