Aston Villa and Everton, who have had rather different Premier League seasons, will meet at Villa Park on Saturday night.
Villa has won two of its first three games, but the Toffees are still waiting for a new owner and their first point of the 2024–25 season after a heartbreaking loss last time out.
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Aston Villa finished this month’s international break on a positive note, having taken six of a possible nine Premier League points after a 2-0 home loss to Arsenal and a victory against West Ham United on opening day.
Back-to-back away victories for Villa were secured at King Power Stadium as they defeated Leicester City 2-1. Goals from Amadou Onana and super-sub Jhon Duran gave Villa their second goal of the season.
Duran has scored seven goals in the Premier League so far, six of which have come from substitute appearances. The highly regarded striker is performing admirably as Ollie Watkins’ primary backup, despite having only started three games since moving to England.
For the challenges, head coach Unai Emery needs such depth in his squad.
Not only have Everton lost four of their previous five Premier League games at Villa Park, but they have also managed only one goal in that span—an own goal by Lucas Digne against his former team back in August 2022.
Romelu Lukaku scored the last league goal for the Toffees away from their hosts this week, which means that both the team and the team’s present form go against Sean Dyche’s.
Everton is one of just two teams, along with Southampton, to have lost all three of their premier league games this season. They are currently dreadfully low in the standings after an appalling late collapse in their most recent encounter before international football got in the way.
They managed to somehow transform an 86-minute lead with two goals into an agonizing defeat.
After a busy period of international play, some squad rotation cannot be ruled out. It is unclear how Unai Emery would choose the starting lineup for Aston Villa’s Champions League debut on Tuesday.
While the return of Diego Carlos and Jaden Philogene may increase his options, Tyrone Mings is not yet game-ready despite working out with Boubacar Kamara, another long-term absence. Leon Bailey and Matty Cash are also out.
Jhon Duran is prepared to make a rare start up front if Ollie Watkins, who was sidelined for England duty due to an injury, is rested. The Colombian international has a strike rate of 96 minutes per goal in the Premier League.
Everton, meantime, can welcome loan signel
