The Premier League champion has been confirmed, the bottom three has been decided but there are still several intriguing games to be played one of those being Aston Villa vs Everton. Villa who sit 11th host 9th place Everton at 18:00.
Aston Villa are not in the most flattering of form with just one win from their last five however they faced up against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United during this time. Everton are faring better with eight points achieved from a possible fifteen in their last five matches.
Both sides sit in very respectable positions on the league table with Everton on the same points as Arsenal and only two points off of the top six. Aston Villa this season look like a much more comfortable Premier League side and haven't had to worry too much in terms of fighting relegation this time around.
Head to head
These two sides shouldn't be too unaware of one another as they played each other twelve days ago which resulted in Villa winning 2-1 at Goodison Park. Historically it is even between Aston Villa and Everton with both teams coming up on top 82 times whilst they have come to a draw 59 times.
Players to watch
Aston Villa - Matt Targett 🏴 Aston Villa are not a team you would generally expect to be defensively sound especially in recent weeks but with the third highest amount of clean sheets in the league they must be doing something right. Left back Matt Targett has been apart of this respectable back line and has been putting in some very good performances in recent weeks. In the 3-1 defeat to Man Utd Targett was one of the better performers for Villa with a pass success rate of 76%, three chances created and five ball recoveries.
Everton - Dominic Calvert-Lewin 🏴 Carlo Ancelotti has relied on one man in particular to lead the line for Everton this season that being twenty four year old Calvert-Lewin. The tall physical striker is having the best season of his career yet with sixteen goals in the Premier League ten more than any other Everton player. Calvert-Lewin has even made his England debut this season being capped seven times and scoring four goals. Such a physical presence on the pitch Dominic is hard to deal with, good in the air and will give Villa's defence a challenge.
Managers thoughts
Villa manager Dean Smith hinted at a possible return for captain Jack Grealish “We’ll sit down with the doctor as well and take it from there. I can’t give a positive yes or no. He looked comfortable and he’s a naturally fit player anyway."
Smith also commented on his sides ambitions for the last four games “I’d love to go unbeaten again. We’ve got some really good games to play – Everton, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and then Chelsea."
He also suggested a top ten push is still on “They’re ones that the players should be licking their lips for and looking to enjoy. That’s what we aim to do and if we do that, we could end up in the top ten.”
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti reflected on his sides recent loss to Villa "I counted ten easy mistakes in the first ten minutes against Aston Villa! It's not going to happen tomorrow, for sure."
Just like many before him Ancelotti made reference to the difficulty of the Premier League "Yes I think the Premier League is the most difficult national competition in Europe for sure. To win here is not easy"
Preview analysis
This game on paper is an evenly matched fixture but with Villa missing talisman Ollie Watkins through suspension they may not have enough up front to convert many chances. Bertrand Traore and Anwar El-Ghazi have proven to be respectable options out wide but whether or not Keinan Davis will be enough down the middle is yet to be seen. As long as Everton can supply Calvert-Lewin they should be golden but they are a team who don't have many attempts on goal with only 3.8 shots on target per game only slightly better than relegated Fulham. Personally I predict whoever wins this game will only come up on top by a small margin or the match will end in a draw.
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