Carabao Cup Preview
Everton are back at Villa Park, the scene of their worst result so far in 2023-24, on Wednesday evening for a third round Carabao Cup tie hoping to build on Saturday’s win at Brentford.
The Blues picked up their first victory of the Premier League campaign with a handsome 3-1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium to ease the pressure on the shoulders of Sean Dyche and his players and they can travel down the M6 in greater heart than they otherwise would.
Indeed, Dyche will be impressing on his charges not only the need to atone for what was an atrocious performance against Aston Villa in August when they deservedly went down 4-0 but also that they are more than capable of getting the result that would book the Blues’ passage to the fourth round for the first time since 2020 under Carlo Ancelotti.
With no new injury concerns and Jack Harrison nearing full fitness, Dyche will have the luxury of making changes to the side that started in London at the weekend if he is moved to do so, although too big a reshuffle would risk upsetting any momentum Everton might take out of the Brentford win.
Harrison has been out of action since injuring his hip in May but has been working his way back and played 45 minutes for the Under-21s against Norwich City last Friday. Whether that makes him sufficiently “Dyche fit” and therefore able to take a place in the starting XI remains to be seen but the expectation is that his name will be somewhere on the team sheet when it is revealed at 6:45pm.
Meanwhile, Dominic Calvert-Lewin came off the bench for a second successive game against the Bees and is in the frame for what would be his first start since suffering a fractured cheekbone at Villa Park five weeks ago. He will be vying with Beto for a starting role, with the Portuguese looking to add to the goal he scored on his debut in the previous round at Doncaster.
The tie may also provide an opportunity for the likes of Nathan Patterson, Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey, Lewis Dobbin and Youssef Chermiti to get some game time and for Arnaut Danjuma to return to the team. Patterson recently lost his place to Ashley Young when he switched flanks to accommodate the return of Vitalii Mykolenko to left back but will be hoping to be named in the line-up should the veteran be rested.
Both Godfrey and Keane played the full 90 minutes of the tie at Doncaster and while Dyche may not elect to partner the pair together again, he could give at least one of them a chance alongside either James Tarkowski or Jarrad Branthwaite.
In Unai Emery, Dyche will be going up a consummate “cup manager”, with the Spaniard having won three successive Europa League titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, managed Arsenal to the final in 2019 and won the tournament again with Villarreal in 2021.
The furthest he ever got in the League Cup with the Gunners was the Quarter-Finals in 2019, however, and with Villa involved in the Europa League this season and looking to challenge for a place in the Premier League’s top four, Emery might feel as though he has bigger priorities, especially as his side host Brighton in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday.
That could see him make a number of changes and, potentially, open the door to Everton to take advantage, provided of course that Dyche doesn’t make too many of his own.
Villa will definitely be without Emiliano Buendia, Bertrand Traore and Tyrone Mings as well as Timothy Iroegbunam and Diego Carlos.
If Everton can spring a surprise and negotiate their way into the next round, they would be one of a maximum of 10 Premier League clubs left in the competition.
Kick-off: 7:45pm, Wednesday 27 September, 2023
Last Time: Aston Villa 1 – 0 Everton, League Cup SF (22 February, 1984)
Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Onana, Garner, Danjuma, Harrison, Doucouré, Beto