Unai Emery Acknowledges Challenge Posed By Excited Everton As David Moyes Returns To Goodison Park

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Unai Emery is preparing his Aston Villa team for a challenging match against Everton, now led by David Moyes. Moyes, who previously managed Everton from 2002 to 2013, has returned to replace Sean Dyche. While Everton aims to avoid relegation, Villa is focused on securing a spot in European competitions. Emery acknowledges the potential impact of Moyes' return but emphasizes the importance of his team concentrating on their own performance.

Emery's squad has struggled in recent away games, losing five consecutive Premier League matches and conceding at least two goals each time. "Our challenge is how we can compete away," said Emery. He noted the difficulty of facing an energized Everton with a new coach, adding that both the crowd and players will be motivated under Moyes' leadership.

Despite these challenges, Emery stresses the need for Villa to stick to their game plan while respecting Everton's tactics and players. "We have to try to focus on our match," he stated. He anticipates some tactical changes from Everton but believes the core group of players will remain consistent.

Emery respects the difficulty of playing at Goodison Park but remains confident about turning around Villa's recent poor results. The manager sees this match as an opportunity to improve their away form.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is expected to return for Everton after recovering from an ankle injury. Moyes has emphasized the need for Calvert-Lewin to score goals immediately, warning that they may seek reinforcements if results don't improve. Calvert-Lewin hasn't scored in 15 Premier League appearances since netting against Villa earlier this season.

For Aston Villa, Amadou Onana has been impressive since joining from Everton at the start of the season. Although not primarily known for scoring, Onana's recent goal against West Ham in the FA Cup brought his tally to four this season, matching his total during two years with Everton.

Injury Updates

Aston Villa faces injury concerns with key players unavailable for selection. Pau Torres, John McGinn, and Ross Barkley are sidelined for the upcoming match. Barkley is expected to be out for another two to three weeks due to injury.

Match Prediction

Aston Villa has historically performed well against Everton in recent seasons despite their current poor away form. They have remained unbeaten in five visits to Goodison Park, keeping clean sheets in their last three encounters there.

The Opta win probability suggests a slight advantage for Aston Villa with a 42.2% chance of winning compared to Everton's 30.2%. A draw stands at 27.6%. Despite past successes at Goodison Park, Villa aims to break their streak of not keeping clean sheets in four consecutive league matches there.