Aston Villa manager reacts to point on the road

FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Everton’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

Is it a crisis? Probably not. But Aston Villa’s season has, putting it mildly, not started well. Their quest to become the 162nd and final of the teams in England’s top seven divisions to score in 2025/26 fell flat in a goalless draw at Everton. More worryingly for Unai Emery is that his team largely look devoid of ideas, lacking the zip and intensity, that has brought them their recent relative success. Continue reading...

FixturesEverton Vs. Aston Villa - Sat, Sep 13th 2025, 15:00 Aston Villa showed four changes for our first-ever visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium to face Everton. Emi Buendía, making his 100th appearance for the club, was named in Villa’s line-up for his first start in claret and blue since January. He was joined by Lamare Bogarde, who also enjoyed his maiden start of the season on Merseyside. They were joined by Emi Martínez and Lucas Digne, facing his former club, as they returned to Unai Emery’s XI to face the Toffees. Ezri Konsa was included in Villa’s side for his 200th Premier League outing, while deadline day signings Harvey Elliott, Jadon Sancho and Victor Lindelöf were named among the substitutes.

FixturesEverton Vs. Aston Villa - Sat, Sep 13th 2025, 15:00 Aston Villa return from the international break on Saturday afternoon with a first-ever trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium to take on Everton (ko 3pm). The Villans will visit the Toffees’ new Bramley-Moore Dock home for the first time since it officially opened over the summer, looking for their first win of the campaign. Prior to heading away on international duty, Unai Emery’s men opened up their season with a goalless draw at home to Newcastle United, before falling to defeat against Brentford and Crystal Palace. Everton, meanwhile, have made a respectable start to the campaign, sitting fifth in the Premier League table after three outings. A late, opening-weekend defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road was softened with a 2-0 win in their first game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion, before a 3-2 triumph on the road at Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to the break.Stats Harvey Elliott could make his Aston Villa debut in this match – he was involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League starts for former side Liverpool (2 goals, 5 assists), assisting in five of those seven starts. The last player to assist on his Premier League debut for Villa was Leon Bailey in August 2021.  No Englishman has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (8) – he has already played more league minutes for the Toffees (270) than he did for Chelsea in the 2024/25 campaign (259).  Aston Villa have won four of their last five away Premier League visits to Everton (D1), keeping a clean sheet in each of their last four. It is Villa’s longest ever run of away league clean sheets against a single opponent.  Everton are winless in their last 12 Premier League matches against Aston Villa, all since Villa returned to the competition in 2019/20 (D3 L9). Their last win was in March 2016, a 3-1 win at Villa Park.  Everton have failed to score in their last four home Premier League games against Aston Villa, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin the last Toffees player to score against Villa on home soil. The only time they’ve gone five without a home league goal against an opponent was six in a row against Liverpool between 1973 and 1978.  Everton have won five of their last six Premier League games (L1), as many as their previous 21 beforehand (W5 D10 L6). At home, the Toffees are looking to win 3+ successive league games for the first time since May 2024 (5).  Jack Grealish has assisted two goals in both of his last two Premier League appearances – the first ever Everton player to achieve this, and as many times as he had recorded more than one assist in his first 191 appearances in the competition beforehand. No player in Premier League history has ever assisted 2+ goals in three successive matches.  Since the start of May, no side has won more Premier League points than Everton (16 – W5 D1 L1), and only Liverpool (14) have scored more goals than the Toffees (13).  Everton won their first Premier League match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on MD2, in a 2-0 win over Brighton. Two teams have won their first two matches at their second permanent home stadium in the competition – Derby at Pride Park in 1997 and Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019.  For just the second time in the club’s history, Aston Villa have failed to score in their first three league games of a season, also doing so in 1997/98 (first 3). Only four teams have failed to score in their first four Premier League games of a season: Sheffield Wednesday in 1993/94, Newcastle in 2005/06, Swansea in 2011/12 (all 4) and Crystal Palace in 2017/18 (7). The Last Meeting Villa were 1-0 winners on the road at Everton on what was their final Premier League visit to Goodison Park, in the last meeting between these two sides in January. After a goalless opening period, Ollie Watkins struck within six minutes of the restart, sliding the ball past Jordan Pickford after being played in one on one by Morgan Rogers. The victory made it three wins in a row in all competitions for Villa, on their way to ending the month unbeaten in their four Premier League outings.Team News Unai Emery confirmed Villa's three Deadline Day signings, Victor Lindelöf, Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott would be available and could be in line to make their debuts in claret and blue.  Matty Cash and Emi Martínez are also both in the squad for Saturday, though Amadou Onana, Andrés García, Boubacar Kamara and Ross Barkley remain out.  David Moyes revealed Iliman Ndiaye would be a doubt for Everton, having sustained a knock on international duty, with Vitalii Mykolenko also touch and go having not featured for Ukraine during the recent September break.  Jarrad Branthwaite is edging closer to a return from injury, while Nathan Patterson and Adam Aznou are also not yet match fit, meaning James Garner is once again likely to deputise at left-back. Managers' Pre-Match Thoughts"They’re playing good football. They have experienced players. It’s a club with a new stadium and they’re excited, the supporters, the players and the club." - Unai Emery"It's a huge game for us. They're one of the teams everybody expect to be near and around the top." - David Moyes

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FixturesEverton Vs. Aston Villa - Sat, Sep 13th 2025, 15:00 Tyrone Mings admitted a “massive” game awaits Aston Villa at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this weekend, where they travel to take on Everton. Unai Emery’s side will visit the Toffees’ new Bramley-Moore Dock home for the first time on Saturday, with action on Merseyside getting underway from 3pm. The defender is expecting a difficult encounter with the challenge the hosts will provide, but insists Villa’s task remains the same. Mings said: “It’s a massive game for us. We need to start winning games very quickly, and that’ll be the full focus going to Everton. “Nothing less than a win is good enough for us at this stage. “But, naturally, away games in particular are very difficult. They’ve started the season well. They’ve got some very good players as well. “For us, (the new stadium) doesn’t make too much of a difference when the game starts, but I think settling their crowd, and dealing with the positive atmosphere they have around their team at the moment, will give us a real good footing to the game if we can settle quickly and take control of the game. “It’ll be difficult, of course, but (we’re) really looking forward to it, really looking forward to seeing how we react after a disappointing start.” Villa’s three Deadline Day additions have spent the past week and a half bedding in with their new teammates at Bodymoor Heath, while a number of Villans have spent time away with their respective countries. Mings believes the international break came at a good time for both the three new signings and Emery’s side generally, and hopes Victor Lindelöf, Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott can make an impact in claret and blue. He added: “The international break definitely gives you a chance to refocus, and to settle and take stock of the first few games. “We’re not quite where we want to be – I think it’s a bit of an understatement. “I think the international break, for us, came at a good time. The international players that went away had quite successful camps as well, so hopefully that comes back to Villa. On Lindelöf, Sancho and Elliott, Mings continued: “I think they’re really exciting additions. “They’re three players with a lot of experience, which can only help us – especially in the Premier League, especially in Europe. “Three very good professionals, as well, from what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks of training. “They’ve settled in well, they’re keen to learn, they’re keen to impress, so I’m really looking forward to playing with them. “So, (we’re) looking forward to the weekend, and looking forward to the new players having an impact as well.”

The Aston Villa Foundation is celebrating four successful years of its Active Through Football (ATF) programme, delivered by the Foundation’s Community Relations team. ATF, funded by the Football Foundation and Sport England, is a programme aimed to increase sport and physical activity participation levels for inactive individuals across targeted communities in the city. The main outcome of programme looks to reduce inequalities from residents within Lower Social Economic Groups who find it difficult to keep active, using a range of sports and physical activities as a tool to remove barriers and increase their activity and participation levels. The programme targets five areas in Birmingham; Alum Rock, Newtown, Gravelly Hill, Small Heath and Balsall Heath, chosen based on locality and where they place on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. The programme is consortium-based, working strategically and collaboratively with other organisations across the city. The programme has delivered over 900 sessions since its establishment, creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with sport and physical activity, becoming a vital community asset. These include Refugee Football, Ramadan Football Tournaments for both men and women, and Delivery of Level 2 equivalent Award in Multi Skills Coaching. The impact of the programme has been seen through the growth of stronger community leadership, with residents stepping into informal voluntary roles at sessions and contributing to self-sustaining the session themselves. Safer, culturally-sensitive spaces have sprouted for groups who traditionally face barriers to sport, including women, refugees, and older adults., while lasting social connections helped reduce isolation and improving mental wellbeing across our target communities. The project has also seen the development of Community Led Sessions, with seven sessions a week that are currently co-delivered with local community groups. Sessions range from informal football for refugees and young people, to women-only sessions like Fusion Fit, Pilates and open-age football as well as walking football for older adults, tailored to create a safe and welcoming environment that encourages lasting engagement in sport and physical activity. One participant shared: “It’s wonderful to be given the opportunity to use the excellent facilities at the Aston Villa Inner City Academy. Taking part in the sessions makes me feel part of our great club and truly valued as a Villa fan.”Want to know more? Contact Active Through Football Coordinator Jordan DaviesFind out more

A closer look at Harvey Elliott, Jadon Sancho and Victor Lindelöf's Fantasy Premier League prospects

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