Everton must score vs Aston Villa to avoid matching terrible streak set 46 years ago
Everton will hope to continue their strong start to the Premier League season when they take on Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Toffees currently sit fifth in the table, with wins against Brighton and Wolves following a disappointing opening day defeat to Leeds United.
Tyler Dibling is expected to make his full Everton debut against Villa, with Adam Aznou also in line to play his first competitive minutes for David Moyes’ side.
Villa are predicted to beat Everton, despite a poor start that has seen them fail to score a goal in any of their three Premier League matches so far.
Jack Grealish called himself a “Villa fan” when he left the club in 2021, and the winger is now set to face off against his former club at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Everton must avoid matching streak set 46 years ago
Everton have not beaten Villa at home since 2015, and the poor head-to-heads against the visitors do not stop there.
The Toffees have won just once against Villa in the last 13 meetings between the sides, with that win coming in a Carabao Cup clash in 2023.
Before 2015, Everton had gone four years without losing to the Villans, but that form has turned on its head over the last decade.
- There have been 190 meetings between Everton and Villa, with the latter leading in wins with 74.
- Everton have lost nine of their last 13 matches against Villa.
- The last time the Toffees did the league double over Villa was in the 2015/16 season, with the Villans relegated at the end of the season.
Saturday’s clash will serve as a great chance to put an end to that; however, with Unai Emery’s side arriving without several key players.
But if Everton fail to score, they will equal an unflattering record previously set against Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
The Toffees failed to score against the Reds in five successive league matches played at home between 1973 and 1977, the only time in Everton history.
That terrible run can be repeated against Villa if Moyes’ side does not score on Saturday, with the Villans keeping clean sheets on each of their last four visits to Goodison Park in the league.
Everton have blueprint to beat Villa
Villa are yet to demonstrate an ability to break down a low-lying defence so far this season.
Each of their three opponents have remained defensively solid, not allowing the pace of Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins to be utilised.
A manager would be expected to alter his set-up to work against such a problem, but Emery is infamously stubborn.
| Aston Villa | Premier League 2025/26 |
| Big chances | 4 |
| Expected goals | 2.5 |
| Average possession | 58.2% |
| Shots on target per match | 3 |
Moyes will not want to alter his own line-up massively, but the Scot will certainly be keen to take advantage.
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