Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton look to build on their tremendous away form as they travel to Villa Park with eyes on a European place.
The blue side of Merseyside could leapfrog the red side if Ancelotti’s men were to defeat Villa tonight but would also need Manchester United to beat rivals Liverpool in order of them to overtake.
A win for ninth-placed Everton could see them climb all the way to joint fifth with West Ham United, whilst a win for the Villans could see them into the top half of the table replacing Leeds in 10th place.
The Toffee’s come off the back of a gritty 1-0 win at West Ham on the weekend with Dominic Calvert-Lewin getting his 16th goal of the season making him Everton’s joint-top English scorer in a season.
Dean Smith’s Aston Villa beat Everton 2-1 just under two weeks ago in the reverse fixture with Ollie Watkins and Anwar El Ghazi getting on the scoresheet for the Villans at Goodison Park.
Although Smith will have to make a change up front with Watkins being suspended for one game after getting a second booking for simulation in Villa’s 3-1 loss to Man United on Sunday.
Elsewhere Smith has said that Villa captain Jack Grealish could be among the substitutes tonight, which will be his first involvement in 12 games following a shin problem.
Everton remain without star player James Rodriguez because of a calf strain and Yerry Mina is unavailable after sustaining a minor adductor injury against the Hammers. Midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure could make his first competitive appearance in two months following a foot problem.
Aston Villa have lost eight times in 17 Premier League home fixtures with relegated sides Sheffield United and Fulham only losing more, while Ancelotti’s side have earned 36 away points this season.
This is the 206th league meeting between the sides, extending its record as the most-played match in English League history.
