Everton will lock horns with Southampton for the second time this month, as the two sides meet in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.
The sides managed by Marco Silva and Mark Hughes met in August for a Premier League clash won by Everton, courtesy of a 2-1 scoreline.
Back then, the pair had each come off disappointing results on the opening day of the season and it's not much different this time around, as the Toffees and the Saints seek to recover from weekend defeats at Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.
Classic Encounter
Southampton 3-3 Everton (2003/2004 Premier League)
Everton and Southampton put together a six-goal thriller at St. Mary's back in 2004, where a teenage Wayne Rooney put the Merseysiders ahead in the seventh minute. Duncan Ferguson doubled their lead with a header 12 minutes before half-time, as David Moyes' team found themselves cruising into the interval.
Wayne ROONEY - Everton F.C 2003-04 pic.twitter.com/RoTZapWkKL
— Old School Panini (@OldSchoolPanini) January 8, 2015
Kevin Philips reduced the deficit with a goal in the second half, only for Rooney to increase it yet again with his second goal of the match. However, with nine minutes to go, James Beattie set up a tense finale by converting from the penalty spot, before Fabrice Fernandes completed the Saints comeback with a 90th minute strike.
The match is easily considered one of the Premier League's classic encounters and it's hard to argue why not.
Key Battles
Nathan Redmond vs. Jonjoe Kenny
Southampton will need one of their key players Nathan Redmond to spark his season into life should he play in this game at Goodison Park. The winger has yet to score or assist in all competitions this season and could start on the left-wing, where he would directly come up against Jonjoe Kenny.
💙 | Yerry Mina + @richarlison97 - our new favourite bromance!
— Everton (@Everton) September 21, 2018
Unseen #22 ➡️ https://t.co/sb8gT7NzRf pic.twitter.com/glEBYJMNe1
The young full back has made three starts for Everton thus far, and a fourth would task him with the job of dealing with Redmond's dangerous movement on and off the ball, as the Saints star looks to create and score his side's goals.
Richarlison vs. Oriol Romeu
Everton's own creative outlet will be provided by Richarlison, who has so far made a decent start to life in blue following a £50m from Watford. The Brazilian, who is capable of filling any of the three advanced midfield positions will be eager to get on the scoresheet for the fourth time this season and tasked with the role of keeping him quiet will most likely be Oriol Romeu.
The Spanish midfielder occupies a deep-lying midfield role and can, on his day, be a good destroyer of incoming attacks. His manager won't require any different tomorrow night.
Predicted Line-ups
Everton: Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Zouma, Digne; Gueye, Davis, Sigurdsson; Walcott, Niasse, Richarlison.
Southampton: McCarthy; Cedric, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand; Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Targett, Redmond; Austin, Ings.
Prediction
Both sides are under obvious pressure to bounce back from their previous results and with Everton being the home side, it can be argued that the Toffees will feel the most heat, as the last time Marco Silva's side they were humbled West Ham United.
To each and every #SaintsFC fan at Anfield today: Thank you!
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 22, 2018
Your support throughout was incredible! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Dx3PB17DDQ
Southampton will look to add another thorn to the former Watford manager's side with an away victory that could have them dreaming of yet another cup run - the Saints reached the final of the 2016/17 League Cup final.
All in all, though, Everton will be favourites to grab the win.
Score Prediction: Everton 3-1 Southampton
Source: 90min
