Aston Villa v Everton - Match preview

Dean Smith’s men host Everton tomorrow aiming to take more than just plaudits after a display at Chelsea which earned plenty of the latter but ultimately resulted in their heaviest Premier League defeat since last October.

In truth, the 3-0 loss at Stamford Bridge provided more encouragement for the weeks and months ahead than any of this season’s first three league games.

After the summer departure of Jack Grealish and the disruption caused by injuries and international call-ups, there was always the chance a reshaped Villa team might take time to hit their stride.

That doesn’t alter the fact a haul of just four points from four matches falls below pre-season expectations. Though Villa should and likely will get better, they face the challenge of maintaining form through what is now, on paper, a tough run of fixtures.

The trip to Chelsea was the first of seven league matches before the end of October, of which six are against teams who finished above Villa last season. The other is the small matter of a local derby with Wolves, themselves looking somewhat refreshed under the leadership of Bruno Lage.

In such context, tomorrow’s clash with the Toffees feels like a significant early season marker. A positive performance and win would build on the optimism generated by last weekend’s performance, yet defeat would see doubts begin to fester and just raise the pressure a notch, with trips to Manchester United and Tottenham to follow before the next international break.

The good news for Smith is he has more options at his disposal than for any other match so far this season. How he chooses to deploy them remains the key question. Villa’s head coach threw something of a curve ball at Stamford Bridge by fielding a back three for the first time in two seasons but while the system worked relatively well, the post-match suggestion is it was more likely a one-off – designed to counter Chelsea’s threat – than a sign of things to come.

“It is horses for courses,” said Smith. “I feel with the quality of the squad we have got now we can rotate and play different systems against different teams, in order to give them problems.”

Summer signing Leon Bailey is pushing for a first start after catching the eye with his substitute appearance at Chelsea, while it would be a surprise if the head coach did not again try Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins together in attack.

Whether record buy Emi Buendia, after nearly three weeks away from the club, is ready to start the match is another matter. The playmaker and Argentina team-mate Emi Martinez are not due back in the UK until just hours before kick-off, though there is an expectation the latter will go straight back into the line-up.