Everton will be hoping to extend their unbeaten start to the Premier League season when they travel to Villa Park on Saturday.
🌟 pic.twitter.com/rRQg7WoYAD— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 13, 2021
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The Toffees have made an excellent start to life under Rafa Benitez, picking up three wins and one draw from their opening four games.
As a result, they find themselves fourth in the table – level with the top three on 10 points and six points clear of twelfth-place Aston Villa.
Villa, on the other hand, have endured an indifferent start to the campaign – recording one win, one draw and two losses.
After losing to Watford on the opening weekend, Dean Smith’s men claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle on Matchday 2.
However, they have since taken just one points from their last two games – drawing with Brentford before losing to Chelsea.
Despite chalking up 18 attempts – six of which were on target – at Stamford Bridge, Villa suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Blues.
As things stand, only the bottom five teams in the table have conceded more goals than Smith’s side this season.
It was difficult to predict how Benitez would fare at Everton, especially with his ties to the Toffees’ arch rivals. However, the former Liverpool boss has exceeded all expectations.
Everton have already beaten Southampton, Brighton and Burnley, as well as drawing with Leeds on Matchday 2.
Thanks to their unbeaten start to the season, the Toffees are one of four teams locked on ten points at the top of the table.
It is also worth noting that only two teams – Manchester United and Manchester City – have scored more goals than Benitez’s new-look side.
Having lost just two of their previous 18 away games in all competitions, Everton will be confident of avoiding defeat at Villa Park.
Head-to-head: Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Everton, picking up two wins and two draws along the way.
That said, the Toffees have only lost three of their previous 15 matches against Aston Villa in all competitions.
Team news: Aston Villa will be without injured trio Carne Chukwuemeka, Keinan Davis and Trezeguet this weekend.
On the flip side, Everton currently have Fabian Delph and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the sidelines, while James Rodriguez is also a doubt.
Although Aston Villa have enjoyed success against Everton in the past two seasons, the Toffees look almost unstoppable under Benitez.
Forebet predicts that Everton will extend their unbeaten start to the season with a narrow victory over Villa on Saturday.