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All eyes will be on the touchline today, just in case something kicks off and the two old rivals Liverpool and Chelsea exchange heated opinions… but there’s really no point. All friends here!
BT chat with Everton new boy Conor Coady. “It has been a very good week. It’s been perfect to come here, the boys have been outstanding. I’ve really enjoyed training but I’m really happy that match day is here, that’s what we live for. I got goosebumps on the phone, thinking: I’m talking to Frank Lampard here. It was a bit surreal. But I listened to every word he said and how he talked about the club. I’m 29 years old, I want to play as many games as I can and I want to help Everton Football Club, that’s all I want to do. Every player wants to go to the World Cup, but there are incredible players fighting for that position, so it’s up to me to help this club as much as I can. Not playing was tough, so to come here is amazing. Being here is a real moment of pride. I’ve got Evertonians in the family!” All at 1,001 words per minute, barely a breath between sentences. It’s good for that.
Steven Gerrard talks to BT Sport. “Tyrone Mings is fully fit. I know I took the captaincy off him but I didn’t take the job off him. He’s been training well. We’ve been vulnerable from set-pieces so his profile will be very important for us . I always try to be honest. I inherited the captaincy situation and I wanted to put my own stamp on it. I wanted it to be my selection. I hope in the long run he helps Tyrone with his consistency because we’ve all seen he can be an upper half”. He also names Roy Keane as his dream midfield partner, in the spirit of the Premier League’s 30th anniversary celebrations. To be fair, the question prohibited him from picking Frank Lampard, so let’s not cause unnecessary trouble.
Tyrone Mings starts for Aston Villa. The sacked captain takes the place of Ezri Konsa, the only change to the side beaten at Bournemouth last weekend.
Everton gave Conor Coady his debut. He is one of two changes from Chelsea’s defeat, with Mason Holgate also starting, filling the holes left by the injured Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina.
The teams
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Diego Carlos, Mings, Digne, Ramsey, Kamara, McGinn, Watkins, Ings, Coutinho. Substitutions: Konsa, Douglas Luiz, Buendia, Chambers, Augustinsson, Young, Olsen, Bailey, Archer.
Everton: Pickford, Patterson, Holgate, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, McNeil, Doucoure, Iwobi, Gray, Gordon. Substitutions: Keane, Onana, Begovic, Alli, Coleman, Davies, Ruben Vinagre, Rondon, Mills.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
preamble
For a certain vintage of fans, this fixture instantly brings to mind the memorable 6-2 of 1989, Graham Taylor’s Villa up, Everton down, their mid-life pomp 80 officially finished. Beautiful kits, and the football wasn’t too bad either.
But enough nostalgia, even if this is the most played game in the history of the English top division. It’s about the here and now, the first managerial meeting between Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, England’s dream midfield pairing of the New Years. The coach’s coat isn’t hanging on a peg…not yet…but rumblings of discontent won’t be far away if they follow up the miserable opening day defeats with a second defeat. Villa did the double over vastly superior Everton in both legs last season, but this time around the Toffees have some fresh defensive power in Conor Coady and Amadou Onana. Villa have the all-time advantage of 77 wins to 76 in 208 games; a tie 56 then? The start is at 12.30 pm. It’s on!