Everton v Aston Villa
English Premier League
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Everton’s injury crisis shows no sign of abating and they are now without 10 senior players for the match against Aston Villa but defender. Leighton Baines and Louis Saha – their highest goalscorer this season – could return to the fold.
Watch Everton v Aston Villa live in the English Premier League by signing up to view the best football feeds online with the Live Sport Network.
Everton Preview
Everton will be well rid of October. A run of five games without a win in three competitions, coupled with a debilitating injury list, has left them in dire need of a Goodison spark on Saturday.
David Moyes’ side can take solace from their last meeting at home to Villa, which they won 3-1 in the FA Cup on their way to the final. Everton were shorn of several key players that day too, and Moyes admitted he had thought it would be a game too far.
That was the second of three pulsating games between these teams last season which reaped 15 goals. Villa clinched a 3-2 league win at Goodison in stoppage time 11 months ago, and then fought back from 3-1 down to earn a draw in the reverse fixture.
Everton have lost their last three games in all competitions and not won in five matches (D2, L3). Their only win in seven league matches in October over the last two seasons was 1-0 at Bolton in 2008. They are, however, unbeaten in six successive home matches in league and cup since the opening-day drubbing by Arsenal (W4, D2).
Louis Saha has scored half of the club’s 12 league goals this season – the highest percentage by any player in the division.
Aston Villa Preview
Having already beaten Liverpool at Anfield this season, Villa are vying for a Mersey feat they last achieved 95 years ago. Not since 1914 have they won at Liverpool and Everton in the same top-flight season.
Villa are unbeaten in their last six league games against Everton (W3, D3). That includes a dramatic 3-2 win at Goodison last December, when Joleon Lescott scored a stoppage-time equaliser only for Ashley Young to net 30 seconds from time. However, Everton did knock Villa out of the FA Cup at Goodison in February.
Villa are unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions, but have only won one of their last five games (W1, D3, L1). Their tally of 17 points from nine games is the same return as last season.
Everton v Aston Villa Prediction
Everton’s injuries and Aston Villa’s recent form makes this a difficult game to predict. Villa’s good record away from home means that they will fancy their chance, but Everton will be hoping that with their backs to the wall, the team can produce a performance to kickstart their revival.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Aston Villa
Everton v Aston Villa Betting
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