... we’ve never played Villa before in an August 23rd game

- and our last outing on this date was a 4-0 home win against Yeovil in the League Cup 2nd Round in 2016
- Arouna Koné grabbed two of the goals in what was the most recent of 3 consecutive Goodison games on this date

- our last August 23rd away fixture was a 1-0 defeat at Burnley in 2009
- Louis Saha put a 75th penalty wide of the target to blow our chances of an equaliser

- our last away win on August 23rd came the season before that
- it was a 2-1 victory at West Brom with Leon Osman and Yakubu notching our goals
- and Jose Baxter - at 16 years and 198 days - become the youngest player ever to start a League match for us!

- we have a very good recent record against The Villains - W5 D0 L1 in the last 6 meetings, home and away
- and W6 D4 L1 in the last 11

- our last encounter ended in a 3-1 win for us at their place in March 2016
- Ramiro Funes Mori, Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku got our goals

- that was the most recent of 3 wins at Villa Park in our last 4 visits - W3 D0 L1

- our last defeat there came in May 2015 - a 3-2 defeat to Tim Sherwood’s Villa

- this will be our 203rd League meeting with Aston Villa, our 102nd at their ground(s)
- it is the most played fixture in the history of English League football!

- oh, and a defeat this time would be our 50th loss away to Villa in all competitions

- if Seamus Coleman plays at Villa Park it will be his 250th League appearance for us!
- he’ll become the 42nd Everton player to reach that figure, the 7th in the Premier League!

- Tom Davies, meanwhile, will reach 50 starts for us in the Premier League if he begins the game
- he'd be the 75th Everton player to get to that figure

- and Mason Holgate will make his 50th appearance for us in all competitions if he plays!

- Mason has never scored for Everton!
- if he does play at Villa and fails to find the net again that will be 40 Premier League appearances for us without a goal!
- only 6 other players have made that many Prem outings for us without scoring

- that list is headed, of course, by Tony Hibbert
- Hibbo played 265 times for us in the Prem (and 329 in all competitions!) without a single goal!

- can we keep yet another clean sheet?!
- if we do, it will be our 11th in 14 games!

- it would also be Jordan Pickford’s 29th for us in all comps
- the same as the inimitable 1970’s keeper, Dai Davies!
- they’d be in joint 13th place on our all-time list

- we started the 2017/18 season with 4 successive clean sheets - but 3 of those were in the Europa League
- the last time we opened a campaign with 3 consecutive League clean sheets was way back in 1912/13!
- it’s the club record - the only time it's happened! - can we equal it at Villa Park?!

- oh, and we’ve only conceded 1 first-half goal in our last 14 matches, home and away!
- that was Eric Dier’s 3rd minute effort for Spurs in our 2-2 draw at their place last May
- we’ve scored 11 times ourselves in those 14 first halves!

- can we keep our unbeaten run going?
- if we do, that will be 7 matches without defeat for us, home and away
- the last time that happened was in an 8-match run in November-December 2017

- it would also be our 4th away game on the run without defeat, all in the Premier League
- that hasn’t happened in the Prem since a run of 5 from December 2016 to February 2017

- a draw at Villa Park will be our 4th in succession away from home
- that hasn’t happened since April/May 2012!

- counting only Premier League games, it would equal the club record!
- it's happened twice - most recently in that April/May 2012 run

- the record in all our League games is 5 successive away draws
- that has also happened twice, the last time back in September-November 1974

- oh, and 2 goals at Villa would take us to 8,700 in all games at all venues!

- the game is live on TV in the UK on Sky Sports
- that's a good omen because we’ve won all of our last 5 live UK TV outings!

- only one of those 5 was away from Goodison though - at West Ham last March.
- before that victory we’d gone a club record 23 successive away Prem games live on UK TV without a win!

- Everton have been awarded 32 penalties against Aston Villa in the past in all competitions
- that’s more than against any other opposition!  

- will the referee award a penalty this time round? 
- if Villa score one it will be the 200th successful spot-kick against us in all of our away League games ever!

- of the 300 taken so far by our opponents, 199 have been netted and 101 unsuccessful

- the game will be only our 6th away Premier League match to be played on a Friday
- and it will be our first outside of the Xmas/New Year and Easter periods!

- our record in the previous 5 is not great - W1 D1 L3
- with the most recent being a 2-2 draw at Hull in December 2016

- the one win was at Middlesbrough, 1-0, on Boxing Day 2008

- looking specifically at 8.00pm kick-offs on a Friday, we’ve had just 6 in the past, home and away in all competitions,
- and we lost 0 of them – W3 D3 L0!

- the last one was a 2-0 home win against Burnley in May this year

- away from home, we’ve only ever had one Friday/8.00pm match in our competitive history!
- that was the 2-2 draw at Hull mentioned above

- COYB!

- here's a reminder of the most recent additions to the site:

- what was our oldest ever starting line-up? And the youngest?
- which seasons were our oldest and youngest? Which managers went with youth and who went wth old codgers?!
- it's all here in the new 'Average Staring Line-Up Ages section'!

- which Everton player made the most substitute appearances in a single season?!
- in all competitions and in the League alone?
- the new 'Most Sub Apps In One Season' section has the answers!

- which Everton substitute has scored the most goals for us?
- which opposition sub has scored the most against us?
- the new 'Goals by Substitutes' section will let you know!

- Test cricketers have a small number on their shirt or cap
- it shows where they fit in in terms of the historical chronology of their country
- now you can see what number every Everton player would wear!
- have a look at the 'Everton Players Numbered Chronologically' section!

- who's managed the most times against Everton?
- who's managed the most clubs against us?!
- well, there's a new 'Opposition Managers' section that will tell you everything you need to know!

- the 'Goals in Most Consecutive Matches' section has been updated!
- it now includes details of which Everton players have scored in the most successive home & away games too!

- who was the last Everton man to play 50 or more games in a season?
- who has played the most games in one season?!
- the new '50 or More Appearances in a Season' section will tell you!

- on the flip side, which players only ever managed 1 game for the club?!
- find out in the new Just One Appearance section!

- we used 39 different players last season in all competitions and 15 of them scored a goal
- is that a lot?! how does it compare to other seasons?
- find out in the new 'Number of Players Used and Goal Scorers - Season-by-Season' section!

- who was the last Everton player to feature in every game in a season?!
- have a look at the new Ever Presents section to find out!

- and how often have we completed League 'doubles' over our opponents in the past?
- alternatively, how often have we been on the receiving end of a double?!
- you can now find out in the new League Doubles For and Against section

- ever wondered which Everton player has been substituted the most times?!
- well, now you can find out - have a look at the new Subbed Off section for full, fascinating details!

- Ademola Lookman was the last Everton player to score on his debut
- who else has managed that feat for the club?!
- have a look at the new Scored on Their Debut section to find out!

- Wayne Rooney has now departed, of course, but who else has had 2 separate spells at the club?!
- the new Two or More Spells at Everton section will tell you!

- Jordan Pickford looks like he'll be our keeper for some years to come
- but who else has appeared for us between the sticks in the past?!
- the new Goalkeepers section has all the details!

- and don't forget there's also a new History In Short section too!
- you can see at a glance how many times we've finished in each position in the League
- and where exactly we've been knocked out of the various cup competitions
- have a peek!