After an opening-day win over West Ham United was followed with a 2-0 home loss to Arsenal, Aston Villa went into this month's international hiatus on a high by moving onto six points from a possible nine in the Premier League.

Villa edged out Leicester City at King Power Stadium, courtesy of both Amadou Onana and super-sub Jhon Duran netting their second goal of the season, with a 2-1 result securing back-to-back away wins.

Despite only starting three Premier League games since arriving in England, Duran has scored seven times in the competition to date - six as a substitute - and the much-admired striker is proving an able deputy to main marksman Ollie Watkins.

Head coach Unai Emery requires such squad depth for the challenges ahead, as his side will fight on four fronts again this season, with two domestic cups and the league being joined on the agenda by an upcoming adventure in the new-look Champions League.

Ahead of Villa's midweek trip to Switzerland, where they will meet reigning Swiss Super League champions Young Boys, the task of posting a first home win of the season is at hand.

Following a run of 15 straight Villa Park victories from March to December 2023, the Birmingham club have since won just four of the next 12 league games at their second-city headquarters - but their recent record against Everton suggests that trend could be defied on Saturday.

Since returning to the top flight in 2019, Villa have remained unbeaten in all 10 of their meetings with the Merseyside club, winning seven times, keeping seven clean sheets and conceding just three goals.

In fact, not only have Everton lost four of their last five Premier League matches at Villa Park, but they have only scored once in the process - a Lucas Digne own goal against his old club back in August 2022.

The last Toffees player to score a league goal away to this week's hosts was Romelu Lukaku over eight years ago, so precedent is against Sean Dyche's side as well as current form.

Along with Southampton, Everton are one of two teams to lose all three top-flight fixtures so far this season, leaving them rock-bottom of the table following a horrendous late collapse in their last game before international football intervened.

Somehow, they contrived to turn a two-goal lead after 86 minutes into a gut-wrenching 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Bournemouth, bringing yet more despair to the long-suffering Goodison Park faithful.

Stretching back to last season, Everton have lost their last four Premier League matches; not since 2005 have they lost five in a row, and they will now be desperate to quickly kick-start their season.

With the controversial John Textor takeover saga still bubbling away in the background, the familiar 'crisis club' tag has resurfaced, so Dyche is aiming to steer his side into calmer waters this weekend.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Barkley; McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Iroegbunam; Harrison, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin