Aston Villa have the opportunity to move level on point with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League by beating the Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton at Goodison Park.
Villa have won five consecutive Premier League games against Everton and are unbeaten in all nine of their top-flight meetings since winning promotion in 2019. The two sides have met twice already this term, Villa triumphing 4-0 at home in the Premier League in August before Everton won 2-1 at Villa Park in the League Cup in September.
Unai Emery's side come into the clash on the back of a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round, but surrendered a two-goal lead to lose at Old Trafford in their last trip in the league on Boxing Day. Meanwhile, Everton have suffered three consecutive top-flight defeats, letting in eight goals, following a run of four successive wins without conceding.
They could lose four league matches in a row for the first time since March 2022, while Villa are bidding to win their opening league game in consecutive calendar years for the first time since 2008.
Pau Torres remains out for Villa, while Jacob Ramsey also misses today's clash with an injury. Youri Tielemans has been named among the substitutes.
Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure starts after missing the last five games, while Dwight McNeil is named on the bench. Dominic Calvert-Lewin's three-match ban was overturned last week.
Stay tuned for build-up, live match coverage and post-match reaction...
Read on birminghammail.co.uk