Moyes' Return and Everton's Fight for Survival

A familiar, craggy face returns to the home dugout at Goodison Park today, as David Moyes begins his second stint in charge of Everton with a tough home game against Aston Villa in the English Premier League. The second David Moyes era gets underway at Goodison Park. It’s over. No more Dycheball at Goodison Park. And now we have the return of a familiar face at Goodison Park: Mr David Moyes. Moyes was confirmed as Sean Dyche's replacement last week, his appointment coming 12 years after he left the Merseyside club to manage Manchester United. The task ahead for the former West Ham and Preston boss is stark, with Everton just a point and two places away from the relegation zone. They face an Aston Villa team that have continually disappointed on the road this season, with Unai Emery's men having lost five consecutive away fixtures in a row.

The Stakes Are High for Both Teams

David Moyes begins his second tour in charge of Everton with little time for emotion, as the Toffees are just two points above the bottom three ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Goodison Park. Moyes has new bosses this go-round, and The Friedkin Group will hope the good times come buzzing back to Goodison. Moyes led Everton to Europe four times from 2002-2013 before leaving for Manchester United. Everton went on a four-match unbeaten run early in December but the last three of those were ties, and the Toffees axed Sean Dyche after losses to Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth left them on a five-match winless run just two points ahead of the bottom three. Aston Villa beat Leicester City last time out and will be hopeful of a long run of successes after spending much of the fall in the Premier League doldrums — an unfamiliar place for the club under Unai Emery. The Villans soon have the return of UEFA Champions League play, and Emery will want these three points at what will be a charged Goodison.

Injury Concerns for Both Sides

Everton's injury list is extensive. OUT: Seamus Coleman (calf), Armando Broja (ankle), Dwight McNeil (knee), Timothy Iroegbunam (ankle), James Garner (back), Youssef Chermiti (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (ankle). Aston Villa also has injury concerns. OUT: John McGinn (hamstring), Pau Torres (ankle), Diego Carlos (foot), Ross Barkley (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Emiliano Martinez (small injury). The club still aren’t sure on the severity of Armando Broja’s injury after being stretchered off against Peterborough, but he’ll certainily miss this game at least. Likewise, Dwight McNeil is still having some knee problems, meaning he’ll join Youssef Chermiti, Tim Iroegbunam and James Garner on the sidelines. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Seamus Coleman should be available for selection once again.

Tactical Considerations and Predicted Lineups

Moyes hasn’t had a lot of time to change things at Everton, but it’s not like he plays a vibrant attacking football far from the defense-first plans of Dyche. Villa are a very good attacking team but will be challenged to get through James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and friends. This won’t be a fairytale start for Moyes, but a solid one. Everton 1-1 Aston Villa. For once, predicting Everton’s formation and line-up is far from an easy task. One of the few certainties is that Jordan Pickford will be in goal, with Vitaliy Mykolenko at left-back. The Blues played with a back three against Peterborough, but that’s not been a system Moyes has often used, so they’ll probably revert back to a slightly more expansive of a 4-2-3-1 setup here. Assuming it’s a back four, it’ll almost certainly be James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite in the middle. The biggest question comes at right-back: Ashley Young has been the mainstay this season, but fellow Scot Nathan Patterson provides much more dynamism. Of course, it’s possible that Moyesy may turn to the option he knows best: Seamus. In midfield, Gueye and Mangala are likely to hold. Another intriguing decision for Moyes will be whether he keeps Everton’s best player this term, Ndiaye, on the left, or whether he’ll finally give the Senegalese the chance to impact the game more from the number 10 role that Dyche refused to consider. Has Moyes seen enough on video or in the limited training sessions he’s held? The only case against that is Everton’s lack of wide options, with Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrøm the only other available wide options. So if Ndiaye is required out wide, that leaves another interesting decision to make. Doucoure is the obvious choice in the central attacking midfield role, but young Harrison Armstrong picked up the man of the match award against Peterborough. It would be a statement of intent to give him a start today. Therefore, I’m expecting Doucoure to take the central role, but with a bit more licence to get forward, with Ndiaye on the left and probably Lindstrom on the right. Calvert-Lewin to lead the line as long as he’s fit enough.

Everton Predicted Lineup

Pickford - Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko - Mangala, Gueye, Doucoure - Harrison, Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin

Aston Villa Predicted Lineup

Martinez - Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne - Onana, Kamara, Tielemans - Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins

How to Watch Everton vs. Aston Villa

Everton take on Aston Villa on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Goodison Park in Liverpool, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. GMT local time. That makes it a 2:30 p.m. ET or 11:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and an 6:30 a.m. AEDT kickoff in Australia on Thursday, Jan. 16. Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the match as it happens, wherever you are in the world. Wednesday's Everton vs. Aston Villa match is streaming on the USA Network, which you can access as part of your cable package or at the NBC Sports website with a valid login. It can also be streamed via Sling TV and other, more expensive streaming TV services. Sling TV's Blue plan includes USA Network, making it a great option for fans wanting to watch Premier League action. It's $40 a month and features over 40 channels, including other sports channels like ESPN and FS1. All of this week's midweek Premier League matches are set to be shown live in the UK exclusively on TNT Sports -- with the game showing on its TNT Sports 2 and TNT Sports 2 HD channels. TNT Sports is offering a sizable 52 matches exclusively live this season to viewers in the UK. You can access TNT Sports via Sky Q as a TV package, as well as the option of streaming online. It costs £31 either way and comes in a package that includes the Discovery Plus library of documentary content. If you want to stream this EPL game live in Canada, you'll need to subscribe to Fubo Canada. The service has exclusive rights to every Premier League match once again this season. Fubo is the go-to destination for Canadians looking to watch the EPL this season, with exclusive streaming rights to every match. It costs CA$30 a month, though you can save some cash by paying quarterly or annually. Football fans down under can watch EPL matches live on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League fixture of the 2024-25 season live in Australia. With exclusive rights to stream all EPL matches live this season, as well as German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans. If you're already an Optus network customer, you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 a month. If you're not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25. If you find yourself unable to view EPL matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this. Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month. Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

A Look Ahead: The Road to Recovery

With David Moyes having had minimal time to implement his strategies, Everton may default to the patterns instilled under Sean Dyche, even though the pressure is on them to deliver a strong performance under the lights at home. For Unai Emery, the focus may be on halting Villa's dismal away form by any means necessary. While Villa undeniably possess greater quality within their squad, the unpredictable nature of this encounter could lead to a tight and hard-fought affair. David Moyes faces a significant challenge with most of his attacking options sidelined ahead of this encounter. Youssef Chermiti made a brief return to training but is back in recovery and will be unavailable for several weeks, having yet to feature this season. Meanwhile, Armando Broja has suffered injuries in Everton's last two outings, including a serious knock during Thursday's FA Cup victory over Peterborough United. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was absent from the squad for the Peterborough match due to an ankle issue. However, his omission comes amidst speculation about his future at the club and rumored tensions with the previous coaching staff. Adding to Everton's woes, Dwight McNeil, the club’s leading Premier League scorer, remains sidelined since early December with no clear timeline for his return. There is some good news, as Seamus Coleman has returned to training, and midfielders James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam are expected to be available in the coming weeks. For now, however, Moyes must rely on Idrissa Gueye, Orel Mangala, and Abdoulaye Doucoure to hold the fort in midfield. Promising youngster Harrison Armstrong made a strong case for inclusion, providing a sublime assist for Beto's opening goal on Thursday. The visiting Aston Villa side will welcome the return of Jhon Duran, who is back from suspension. Considering his impressive performances before receiving a red card against Newcastle United, he could step in to lead the line, potentially replacing Ollie Watkins. Manager Unai Emery has several players with prior experience at Goodison Park, but Ross Barkley is unavailable after sustaining a calf injury during the cup clash with West Ham. This rules him out of partnering with Amadou Onana and Lucas Digne in the matchday squad. In defense, Pau Torres remains sidelined, while Diego Carlos is a doubt due to a foot problem. Meanwhile, Jaden Philogene appears to be on his way out of the club, with a move to Ipswich Town imminent. He was notably absent from the squad for the West Ham fixture last week.

This Premier League clash takes place at the Goodison Park in Liverpool, England and kicks off on Wednesday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. local time (GMT).