Next season will be our last at our iconic old stadium, and we all know the last game played there next May is going to be full of emotions all round. With that in mind, I think the club ought to approach the Premier League to see if our final home fixture can be against an opposition that has a historical significance to the stadium.
To me, there are 2 clear candidates: Aston Villa, who we have played more than any other club; and Nottingham Forest, who we played against in our first-ever league game at Goodison Park on 3 September 1892 (the first actual game was a friendly vs Bolton Wanderers).
My preference would be for Forest as this is about Goodison Park whereas the early home games against Aston Villa would have been at Anfield. Having Everton vs Nottingham Forest as the first league game at Goodison Park and 133 years later as the last league game there would be a great way to honour the ‘Grand Old Lady’
As for our first game in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, this will be a ‘test event’ friendly and as it will go down in the records as our opening game at the new stadium it’s important that Everton do not lose.
With that in mind, I think the club should invite CD Everton de Viña del Mar from Chile back for this opening match, having last played them here in 2010. Everton vs Everton is a game that Everton cannot lose!