Everton will begin their FA Cup journey with a third-round clash against Sunderland at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Toffees, who last won this prestigious tournament in 1995, will be eyeing a deeper run in the competition this time around after the dismal campaigns of late. Since finishing runners-up in 2009, Everton have made two semi-finals and four quarter-finals appearances but they haven’t been able to get past the fourth round in any of their last three seasons.
An early elimination from the EFL Cup after a disappointing loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers makes the FA Cup even more important for the Blues.
Everton and Sunderland have already met in the league once this season, sharing spoils after a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. This is the first FA Cup meeting between the two sides since the 2011-12 quarter-final which the Toffees won 2-0. Everton have also knocked out the Black Cats eight times from this competition.
David Moyes’ side drew 1-1 with Wolves over the weekend. Michael Keane gave the hosts the first-half lead with a clinical finish but was on the receiving end of a bizarre VAR decision and was sent off at the 83rd minute for “violent conduct”.
Jack Grealish lost his cool in the aftermath of the incident and followed his teammate to the dressing room shortly after, leaving the Blues to defend with nine men for the final minutes of the contest.
That stalemate has extended Everton’s winless streak in front of their supporters to three games and the Blues will be desperate to secure their first win at Hill Dickinson Stadium since the 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in early December.
Sunderland, meanwhile, are also winless in their last five games after suffering a 3-0 loss to Brentford and they’ve won just once in their last 12 games. As a result, they find themselves 10th in the league table, just one point ahead of Everton at 12th.
They suffered consecutive third-round exits against Newcastle United and Stoke City over the last two seasons, respectively and have been eliminated in each of their last seven FA Cup ties against teams from the same division as them.
Everton vs Sunderland, FA Cup – Team News and Predicted Lineups
Everton Team News
Everton will miss Michael Keane and Jack Grealish for this FA Cup clash. Keane got a straight red after VAR deemed his tug of Tolu Arokobare’s hair “violent conduct” while Grealish lost his cool and was awarded two successive yellow cards for dissent and sarcastically applauding the referee.
Grealish will serve his one-game suspension this weekend while Keane will begin a three-game ban. Meanwhile, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman and Charly Alcaraz are out injured.
The Blues will also miss the Senegal duo of Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye, with the quarter-finals of the AFCON being played over the weekend.
Mark Travers is the designated cup keeper for Everton this season and is likely to replace the ever reliant Jordan Pickford in goal for this fixture. Meanwhile, the absences of Keane and Grealish could lead to Nathan Patterson and Tyler Dibling securing starts once again.
Everton’s predicted starting XI: Mark Travers (GK), Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Jake O’Brien, Vitalii Mykolenko, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, Harrison Armstrong, Tyler Dibling, Beto, Dwight McNeil
Form Guide –
Everton: L-L-D-W-L
Sunderland: W-D-D-D-D
Head-to-Head –
Matches: 185
Everton wins: 83
Sunderland wins: 71
Draws: 31
When is Everton vs Sunderland, FA Cup match?
Everton will face Sunderland in the third round of the FA Cup on the afternoon of Saturday, January 10. Kickoff at Hill Dickinson Stadium is scheduled at 12:15 pm UK time.
Where to watch Everton vs Sunderland in the FA Cup?
The FA Cup clash between Everton vs Sunderland will be broadcast live on TNT Sports. The match will also be available for live streaming on Discovery+ platform.