Aston Villa missed the chance in the previous round to move ahead of Manchester City and take outright second place. Now Everton, a far from comfortable opponent for the hosts, travel to Villa Park.
Aston Villa
Despite keeping a clean sheet in the match against Crystal Palace (0:0), there were moments of real chaos in Aston Villa’s penalty area. On top of that, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez picked up a calf injury and is a doubt for the upcoming match. In the third round of the FA Cup, Unai Emery’s team were handed one of the toughest possible opponents at this stage, Tottenham Hotspur. Although they are going through a slump in the Premier League, at least the other clubs were facing teams from the lower divisions. Marco Bizot, who replaced Martínez, made four saves and helped them to win even away from home (2:1).
Everton
In the cup, Everton also faced a Premier League club, Sunderland, and they failed to get past them. Even having Jordan Pickford in goal was not enough. In the penalty shoot-out, Robin Roefs was the hero, saving all three spot-kicks. This match without a win in regulation time was David Moyes’s team’s third in a row and their sixth in the last seven games. On top of that, the trip to Birmingham will be missed by centre-back Michael Keane and one of the team’s key players, Jack Grealish, both sent off in the previous round against Wolverhampton Wanderers (1:1).
Aston Villa vs Everton Prediction
For these reasons, it will be extremely difficult for Everton to count on taking points. Only another outstanding display from Jordan Pickford could change that. Otherwise, we should expect an Aston Villa victory.
