David Moyes will reveal the home technical area at Goodison Park for the first time in 12 years when Everton play host to Aston Villa in the English Premier league on Wednesday.
He was named as Sean Dyche’s replacement at the weekend for his second stint in the dressing room and is under pressure to reverse the side’s recent fortunes against Villa.
Last Thursday they were subjected to what could be described as one of the most bizarre days in the history of the club and believe me when I tell you that is a title that has been hotly contested over the past few seasons.
Anhill having left the club sitting just one point above the relegation zone five days after a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth to be replaced by Dyche three hours before an FA Cup tie with Peterborough United, who also took training that day.
Everton regulars Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman captained a team on Thursday night where Everton scraped into round four with a rather poor 2-0 victory.
The writing was on the wall for Dyche though, his team did not register a shot on target at the Vitality in their last fixture but still, only Southampton have won fewer games and conceded less goals than Everton in the Premier League this season (three wins, 15 goals).
Everton Chief Executive Ken Anderson sees Dyche off the club with an overall record of 26 won matches from 84, shy of the touchline for the last time after having won only one of his last 11 games in charge – that was the lop-sided 4-0 spanking of Wolves back in the first week of December.
Out of the 10 games, only Arsenal had a tier worse defensive record than Everton but their only goal in a recent match had been from Iliman Ndiaye at the Etihad and it was their only goal from open play in recent memory, and the fans had turned, they were tired of watching negative football every single weekend.
The visitors have the chance to keep four consecutive clean sheets away to Everton for the first time in the lengthy history of this matchup because they are undefeated in their previous five visits, have won three of them, and have not given up in their last three.
However, manager Unai Emery will also be trying to avoid creating unwelcome history, as another loss will prolong their longest losing streak away from home since their terrible relegation in 2015–16.
Despite this, Villa is still vying for a spot in the top four, behind an unimpressive Manchester City by two points and Chelsea by just four points.
Villa has played twice and won twice since the year began. They have defeated West Ham United and Leicester City 2-1 at home, with the latter victory occurring in the FA Cup on Friday.
But with so many crucial games left this month, Emery will know his team needs to bounce back from that lackluster performance, where they had to rally from behind to guarantee a berth in the fourth round.
With a top-eight spot on the line, Everton's new management poses a completely different task than what they might have anticipated a week ago. They will play Monaco and Celtic to finish their Champions League league phase campaign before traveling to Arsenal this weekend.
Both teams should be in strong form going into this match because they have had plenty of time to prepare and have already won their respective FA Cup third-round matches.
With Coleman sat next to him in the dugout and Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin not playing, Baines disclosed that he did not select the team that began against Peterborough, but there were no major surprises.
Tim Iroegbunam is still a week or so away from making a comeback, but Calvert-Lewin and James Garner, who has missed the last two months due to a back injury, are in the running to replace McNeil.
Guests Jhon Duran's return from suspension will help Villa, and considering his play before that red card against Newcastle United, he might take Ollie Watkins' place up front.
Although Emery has many players with experience at Goodison Park, Ross Barkley will not be able to join Amadou Onana and Lucas Digne in the matchday squad due to a calf injury sustained during the cup match against West Ham.
In defense, Pau Torres is also out, Diego Carlos is questionable because of a foot ailment, and Jaden Philogene, who was left out of the squad to play against West Ham last week, is expected to depart the team this month to join Ipswich Town.
