Everton vs Preston: Moyes Returns to Deepdale in EFL Cup Clash
Deepdale under the lights, David Moyes back in the home dugout he once called his own – but with absolutely no room for sentiment.
Everton, fresh from a sharp Premier League start, head to Preston on Wednesday night with a clear brief: keep the momentum rolling and avoid any hint of an upset in this EFL Cup second-round tie.
Kick-off is 8pm at Deepdale, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
Everton arrive ready – Preston arrive hurting
While several top-flight sides stumbled out of the blocks on opening weekend, Everton did the opposite. They beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Goodison Park, showed energy, and crucially, showed edge.
It wasn’t flawless. Palace carved out two big first-half chances and could easily have led. Then Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall intervened. His superb strike flipped the mood, and from that moment Moyes’s side controlled the contest and saw it out with authority.
That performance underlined a basic truth heading into this tie: Everton look ready for the season. Preston do not.
Paul Heckingbottom’s team are already under strain. Two Championship games, two defeats, and neither loss offers much comfort. A 2-1 derby reverse at Bolton exposed a flat first half, and Wolves then arrived at Deepdale and simply took them apart.
The 3-1 scoreline flattered Preston. Wolves were 3-0 up and cruising before Jordan Thompson’s injury-time consolation added a thin layer of respectability to a one-sided afternoon.
Preston’s problems run through the pitch – especially up front
The numbers tell their own story. Preston have lost five of their last seven matches. They have gone 18 games without a clean sheet. In seven of their last eight outings, they have conceded the first goal.
That is a brutal backdrop for a visit from a confident Premier League side.
Heckingbottom’s issues are most glaring in attack. Last season’s league return was modest – 55 goals in 46 games – and the summer has stripped away what cutting edge they did have.
Ten-goal top scorer Lewis Dobbin has gone, his loan from Aston Villa completed before a permanent move to Southampton. Milutin Osmajic, who hit eight league goals last term, was left out of the weekend squad as he lines up a move to Genoa.
Then came another blow. Their only senior centre-forward, Jusef Erabi, limped off midway through the second half against Wolves and is now a doubt.
For a side already short on goals, that’s a glaring hole. Heckingbottom needs late transfer business just to make Preston competitive across the season, but the here and now is just as stark: he has to juggle a stretched squad, a cup tie against Everton, and a crucial league trip to Charlton at the weekend.
Rotation is almost inevitable. So is risk.
Moyes weighs changes – but not complacency
Across the technical area, Moyes faces a different kind of selection puzzle.
Everton’s fans have made it clear they want more than survival scraps this year. They want a proper go at the cups. Moyes knows that, and while he will shuffle his pack, he is unlikely to field anything soft.
Dewsbury-Hall, the star of the Palace win, could be one of those handed a breather with Saturday’s league trip to Bournemouth looming. Yet Everton’s depth should still allow Moyes to name an experienced XI, with serious quality waiting on the bench if needed.
The Toffees have not missed an EFL Cup third-round draw since 2002. That record is no accident. They tend to handle these early rounds professionally, and the gulf in resources between the clubs only underlines that expectation.
Beto primed to lead the line
One change looks almost nailed on: Beto stepping in from the bench to start.
The powerful centre-forward finished last season as Everton’s top league scorer with nine goals. He is not a finisher who deals in ruthless efficiency, but he lives in the penalty area, keeps defenders occupied, and racks up chances.
Against a Preston defence that has been leaking goals and struggling to dictate games, his physical presence could quickly tilt the tie. If Everton dominate territory as expected, Beto will not be short of service.
He looks an obvious candidate to strike first at Deepdale.
Team news and likely line-ups
Preston
Heckingbottom has problems to solve. Erabi is a doubt after going off at the weekend. Brad Potts is out. Theo Carroll’s ankle will be assessed.
Expected to stick with a 4-2-3-1, Preston could line up:
Iversen; Pol Valentin, Storey, Gibson, Vukcevic; McCann, Thompson; Burgzorg, Devine, Small; Lang.
Bench options are thin: Clarke, Hughes, Lindsay, Leroy, Erabi, Gryba, Moran.
Everton
Moyes is set to freshen things up but still name a strong side. Timothy Iroegbunam (adductor) and Christian Norgaard (match fitness) are not available.
Everton’s likely 4-2-3-1:
Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Armstrong, Hackney; Ndiaye, Alcaraz, Johnson; Beto.
On the bench: Dibling, Dewsbury-Hall, Barry, Branthwaite, Garner, Rohl, George.
The stakes at Deepdale
For Everton, this is about standards. A club with their history should expect to handle a struggling Championship side and move quietly into the round of 32.
For Preston, it feels heavier. A fanbase watching a winless start, a head coach already under pressure, a squad short of goals and short of time in the transfer window.
Cup nights can flip a mood. They can also expose a gap in class.
On Wednesday, in front of the cameras, we find out which story Preston are writing this season.
