The Toffees will be desperate for a much-needed home win to get a season of high hopes up and running.
Everton will be hoping to get their first Premier League home win of the 2023/24 season when Wolverhampton Wanderers come to town on the third matchday of the new campaign.
In what could potentially be their final season at their current home ground, Everton did not get off to the dream start they envisaged after losing 1-0 to Fulham on the opening weekend of the season.
Many believe this will be the Blues’ final campaign at Goodison Park before switching to a new ground and Everton will be hoping for a strong showing after fighting relegation until the final day of last season. Everton have lost 11 league games at home since the start of last season and they must do better if it really is a farewell campaign at Goodison.
The Toffees were undefeated in their five pre-season games but came off with a narrow defeat to Fulham on opening day. Although there have been six wins, six draws, and six defeats each for Everton and Wolves in this fixture, the Merseysiders are winless in the last four meetings between the sides.
On the other hand, last season may have ended in timid fashion for Wolves. Still, they quietly rebuilt during pre-season yet failed to yield a positive result from an impressive opening-day performance at Old Trafford. Wolves were fantastic against Manchester United and should have got all three points but were left to rue their poor finishing once again.
Gary O’Neil’s men will be looking to get a massive scalp at the famously tough Goodison Park and they must do so with a poor traveling record as they are winless in nine Premier League away games, including five defeats in a row. Wolves will however be encouraged by their five wins in the last ten games against Everton.
Match tickets
This important game for both clubs begins at 3 pm UK time on Saturday 26th August and Everton vs Wolves tickets for the match have been on sale via each individual club’s website.
However, the game is almost certainly going to be a sell-out with Goodison Park expected to be packed to the rafters as loyal Evertonains look on for what they hope would be a sweet home victory for Sean Dyche’s men.
The Merseysiders treat every home game like a religious gathering and demand the maximum effort of their players. A rocking Goodison is truly an unmissable spectacle.
Hence, getting a hold of Wolverhampton Wanderers tickets may be difficult so those who would love to attend the game may have some luck finding them via a ticket reselling site.
Team news
Englishmen Ashley Young and Jack Harrison, and Dutch international Arnaut Danjuma are the new arrivals who are hoping to inspire better fortunes as Dyche takes charge of his first full season.
Ex-Leeds winger Harrison is a long-term casualty as he is set to be out injured until after the season’s first international break. Dwight McNeil and Seamus Coleman are also ruled out of action against Wolves while Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains a doubt given his ongoing fitness struggles.
Wolves are in the unfamiliar position of having no players on the treatment table, at the time of writing, considering their crippling injury issues last season. The West Midlanders will be pleased to have a fit and fresh squad for their new manager who was appointed only four days before his debut having replaced Julen Lopetegui who had disputes with the board.
O’Neil will have had more days to establish his ideas and preferred team ahead of this trip to Everton. Going by what we saw at Man United, there is a lot to look forward to in this game.
Line-ups
38-year-old Ashley Young seems to have won the left-back spot ahead of Vitaliy Mykolenko and at least he won’t have to mark the pacey Adama Traore who left Wolves over the summer. James Garner is another who has earned his manager’s trust but winger Lewis Dobbin will be looking to get into the lineup as much as Danjuma who seems to be Neal Maupay’s deputy in the striker role.
Elsewhere, you can expect Dyche to stick to his tried and trusted team for a game they cannot afford to lose in front of their home fans.
Everton: Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Young; Gueye, Onana, Iwobi, Garner, Doucoure; Maupay
Wolves may feature a number of changes over the coming games as O’Neil gets to grips with his strongest line-up and builds team dynamics. You can expect another high-energy team keen to upset the Goodison crowd just as they did at Old Trafford.
Notably, Portuguese forward Pedro Neto was the most potent of the Wolves’ players as he had the most shots (three) with two being on target. The aim over the next few games clearly has to be finding a balance that allows them to score goals more often and win games.
Wolves: Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Lemina, Gomes, Nunes, Neto; Cunha, Sarabia
Prediction
Everton are a shrewd yet efficient unit under Dyche and against evenly-matched opponents, their counter-attacking ability and superiority from dead balls make them a devastating prospect. This has all the markings of a typical Premier League game with much-needed points on offer.
The hosts may indeed cause Wolves a lot of problems on the break and around their own penalty box but Everton must also be worried about the fact the Midlands side had 23 shots on goal against Man Utd. Although they ended that game without scoring, the Wolves are on an upward trajectory and this is the perfect moment to end a five-game losing streak in away league games.
Everton 1-1 Wolves
