By Emmanuel Okogba

After losing their opening game of the season against Chelsea, Everton will travel to Aston Villa to try to get their first win and three points against a side that also lost their first game.

While Everton fell to a Jorginho spot-kick, Villa were beaten 2-0 by Bournmouth who just just returned to the Premier League.

With the exit of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin still unavailable, Everton will need to rely on new options to get the goals and avoid a repeat of last season’s failed romance with relegation.

Iwobi is expected to retain a start as he has done for sometime now and new signings Conor Coady and Amadou Onana should get a look in.

Everton will also need to outdo themselves to end a five-match winless run against the Villans in the Premier League. The Toffees only managed to get a goalless draw when both sides back in 2020 – their best result from recent meetings between both sides.

Lampard describing the club’s recent signings as a big deal said: “In the short time Conor has been here – just a few days – he’s been a great one for me because normally you have to do a lot of reference checks on players to find out what type of people they are.

“It took me about five minutes to speak to Conor and understand the type of person he is – and I knew it before the phone call, if I’m honest.

“The minute he came up as an opportunity for us, it was a huge deal for me and the Club.

“The conversation we had was relatively short. I remember going against him while I was manager of Chelsea during COVID times with no fans – and it struck me, his voice on the pitch and how much he drove his team. And, obviously, he’s a quality player, a regular in the England squad.

“I spoke to him and became aware of his situation, I told him what I thought about him as a player and what we’re trying to do at Everton. 

“With Amadou as well, the personality he’s shown as a young man, with a real positive, infectious attitude straight away.

“It’s not all about that [the character of a player] but it’s a big part of what we’re trying to do – to bring the right people to the Club to drive it forward.

“We’re happy in terms of the business we’ve done so far to that point.”