Aston Villa will face Everton at home in the third round of the Carabao Cup after the draw was made on Wednesday night.
Given our involvement in European competition this season, Unai Emery’s side will enter a round later than usual, as we target silverware and will undoubtedly take this potential avenue to a trophy seriously.
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It promises to be a gruelling campaign though as we try to find the balance between domestic competitions and the Europa Conference League, but the hope is that through our work in the summer transfer window, we have enough to be competitive on all fronts.
Third round ties will be played during the week beginning September 25, and so while many in the squad will be on international duty next week, it’s hoped that they all come through unscathed and are available for our fixtures later this month.
Games will come in quick succession following the conclusion of the break, as while we host Crystal Palace on September 16, should we advance to the group stage of the Europa Conference League, our first group game will take place on September 21.
That’s then followed by a trip to Chelsea just three days later, before the Carabao Cup fixture is played in midweek ahead of a clash with Brighton at home on September 30.
In turn, that’s potentially four games in 14 days, and so with a number of key individuals currently sidelined by injury, it’s hoped that we start to welcome them back in the coming weeks as we’ll certainly need the competition and depth.
Nevertheless, despite their struggles, Everton will pose a difficult challenge as they’ll want to put a poor start to the season behind them and get a cup run going to boost morale. While we were excellent in a 4-0 win over Sean Dyche’s side just a week or so ago, Emery will know that we’ll have to be at our best to see them off again in our Cup encounter.