Aston Villa kick-start their 2023/24 Carabao Cup campaign when they host Sean Dyche’s Everton at Villa Park this Wednesday. Here’s the latest heading into tomorrow night’s game…
Words by: Liam Davies
THE BUILD UP
Unai Emery’s side enter the upcoming third round fixture on the back of Sunday’s hard-fought 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. The win in West-London saw the Villans bounce back from last Thursday’s defeat in Poland at the hands of Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Blues had struggled heading into the fixture, picking up just one win to begin the term. Villa capitilised on Chelsea’s poor form and piled on the misery by defeating Pochettino’s side 1-0 thanks to Ollie Watkins’ second-half strike, after Malo Gusto’s dismissal in the 58th minute red card left the away side with a man advantage with half an hour to go.
World Cup winning goalkeeper Emi MartΓnez was called into action several times throughout the contest, denying the likes of Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson and Ben Chilwell one-on-one. Emery’s side climb to sixth in the Premier League, as a result, with Chelsea dropping to a worrying 14th place.
This week’s cup opponents, Everton, are another side that have had a tough time so far this season. Prior to the weekend’s action, the Toffees were win-less and had picked up just one point from the opening five games. A resolute and clinical perform in West-London against Brentford on Saturday evening changed that, however.
Sean Dyche’s side picked up their first victory of the term, defeating Thomas Frank’s Bees by three goals to one. The travelling Blues grabbed the game’s first goal inside six minutes, with Malian midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure striking past summer signing Mark Flekken. Brentford, after a VAR check, responded in the 28th minute, with number eight Mathias Jensen bagging the equaliser.
Centre-back James Tarkowski would help Everton regain the lead in the 67th minute with a powerful header, before striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin would convert an effort minutes later to give his side a two goal cushion. This result fired the Toffees up to 15th in the table and, importantly, out of the relegation zone.
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Can Aston Villa begin their Carabao Cup campaign with a victory at home or will Sean Dyche’s side make it two wins in a row to knock their claret and blue counterparts out of the competition?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
On Sunday, Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey picked up his first Premier League minutes since suffering a metatarsal injury during the U21 Euros in Georgia/Romania this summer.
The 22-year-old notched his first minutes of the season in the Europa Conference League Thursday, when replacing Nicolo Zaniolo off the bench during the 3-2 defeat in Warsaw, and is in line to start tomorrow’s cup fixture.
Left-back Γlex Moreno is a doubt for the upcoming mid-week game, however. The Spaniard, despite recently making the bench against both Crystal Palace and Legia Warsaw after recovering from injury, was left out of the squad in West-London on Sunday, with manager Unai Emery confirming that the number 15 had suffered a setback and was ‘not feeling 100%’.
Speaking after the win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Emery said: “His injury was very hard. He’s been better and better, but he is not feeling 100 per cent comfortable to play.
“We decided to stop some days, maybe one week or two weeks. Hopefully he is being close again to being in the squad.”
Diego Carlos is expected to return to first team training this week, but will miss tomorrow’s third round game at Villa Park. The Brazilian picked up a hamstring injury during the 3-0 loss at Liverpool earlier this month, but could return and boost his side’s defensive options for Saturday’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Elsewhere, winger Bertrand TraorΓ© remains sidelined and trio Tyrone Mings, Emi BuendΓa and Tim Iroegbunam are all unavailable through injury.
EVERTON
Summer singing Jack Harrison could make his Toffees debut in the upcoming Carabao Cup fixture in the West Midlands. The 26-year-old winger made the switch from EFL Championship outfit Leeds United this summer, following the Yorkshire-based side’s relegation from the top flight last season, but has yet to feature in Everton blue.
Harrison has been sidelined with a hip injury, missing his new team’s opening seven games of the season, but recently gained 45 minutes for the under 21 side and is therefore in line to feature at Villa Park tomorrow night.
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Portuguese midfielder AndrΓ© Gomes is being assessed ahead of the upcoming game. The 30-year-old played briefly during pre-season, notching 45 minutes against Bolton and 12 minutes against Sporting CP, but has missed all competitive action since with a calf injury.
Elsewhere, midfielder Dele Alli (muscle) and full-back Seamus Coleman (knee) are both unavailable through injury.
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A BIT ON EVERTON
Things have looked pretty bleak for Everton in recent years. The Merseyside club have had the threat of relegation looming over them due to consistently poor performances and results on the pitch, whilst off it, they have struggled financially and have major issues with the board.
However, the last couple of weeks has provided the Toffees faithful with a source of promise and hope as the club announced the agreement of a deal with Miami-based company 777 Partners. This takeover would see current majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, lose control of the club and a new business model introduced to help (eventually) alleviate the long-standing money troubles.
Focus, for now, is on tomorrow’s game at Villa Park, however. Dyche’s side have already made the trip to B6 this season and – it’s safe to say – they did not enjoy their visit. The Villans bounced back from opening day defeat at St James Park superbly by putting four past their Merseyside opposition. John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jhon DurΓ‘n all found themselves on the score-sheet that afternoon, and Unai Emery will hope his Villans can replicate such a performance as the 51-year-old head coach eyes silverware this season.
This prospect is helped by the fact that Sean Dyche is expected to rotate tomorrow evening. Everton’s full focus will be on the league this season and are therefore expected to put out a weaker side at Villa Park to rest first-teamers and avoid injuries to key players. Youssef Chermiti, Arnaut Danjuma and Michael Keane could all begin the third round fixture, with the likes of Beto, Dwight McNeil and Jarrad Branthwaite dropping out of the starting eleven.
The Toffees defeated EFL League Two side Doncaster Rovers in the previous round of the Carabao Cup, despite trailing at half-time, courtesy of Joe Ironside’s 44th minute goal. Portuguese forward Beto and Dutch winger Danjuma’s second-half goals helped Dyche’s side overturn the deficit to win 2-1 on the night. Cup success would appease the demands of the Everton fans, but a tough task awaits them on Wednesday, with Unai Emery’s eager Aston Villa standing in their way.
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MY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture at Villa Parkβ¦
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share yours now and letβs discuss?
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