Aston Villa and Everton both suffered defeats on the opening weekend, though Villa’s loss to Bournemouth was far more disappointing than Everton falling 1-0 to Chelsea.
Former England teammates Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are two of the favourites to be the first Premier League manager sacked.
No match is must-win at this stage of the season, but a victory at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon would be significant for either side.
Winner: Aston Villa
Aston Villa are unbeaten in six against Everton in all competitions. Gerrard was disappointed with his team’s performance in the season opener, but they are rightly favoured to get the better of an Everton team which looks alarmingly low on quality.
The Villains have by far the superior talent. Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey are inconsistent, and Gerrard has a decision to make between Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, but there is significant ability there.
Villa should be able to do enough to take all three points.
To Be Shown A Card: Mason Holgate
Booked in the season opener after replacing Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate is a yellow card candidate against Aston Villa. Holgate was cautioned seven times last season, and he will spend a lot of Saturday’s match trying to keep Coutinho quiet.
Aston Villa were among the league leaders in opponent bookings last season – only Wolves saw their opponents go into the referee’s book more often.
Clean Sheet: Aston Villa
Even with new signings Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara, the Aston Villa defence didn’t inspire much confidence last weekend. This is a team which was in the top half in expected goals against last season, though, and they are matched up with a very limited Everton attack.
The Toffees added Conor Coady and Amadou Onana this week, and Salomon Rondon returns from suspension, yet they are still desperately short on firepower in the final third.
Only the top five and Crystal Palace kept more clean sheets than the Villains in 2021-22. This is a good price on the hosts to shut Everton out.
All odds are subject to change