After the high of the Newcastle win was so rapidly checked by the low of the Manchester City defeat, Everton must reorganise for their first foray of the season into the FA Cup.
It's an all-Premiership affair at Goodison as Blackburn Rovers come to town on the back of a decent sequence of results in the league that has seen them ascend away from the lower echelons and into a more respectable mid-table berth.
While David Moyes has historically made his Everton side hard to beat, it's a lack of cutting edge in attack that has largely prevented his team from achieving the kind of success the fans crave and perhaps explains why he has not managed the Blues to a cup final so far in his five years in charge.
A trip to the FA Cup Final, a stage the Blues last graced when they won it 11 years ago, seems an awfully long way away at this point but it's a mere — ahem — six matches away.
Moyes has three more likely injury absentees in the form of Nuno Valente, James Beattie and Mikel Arteta. All three players missed training and are rated as highly doubtful for the visit of Mark Hughes's side.
If they don't pass late fitness tests, it would likely mean a recall for Gary Naysmith, Victor Anichebe and Andy van der Meyde.
Alan Stubbs is back in contention following an injury problem of his own but while Tim Cahill had suggested that he could be fit in time for this one, he remains a way off full fitness.
New signing Anderson de Silva will have to prove himself at Reserve level before Moyes tries him in the first team.
Blackburn, meanwhile, will be without captain Lucas Neill and striker Shabani Nonda. Rovers have won five of their last six and only failed to reach the 4th round once in the last decade.
A home tie in the 3rd Round is all that you hope for and Everton must take advantage of home field advantage if they hope to progress to the next stage.
Following the New Year's Day selection debacle at Manchester City, the Blues will almost certainly be spearheaded by the Johnson-Anichebe partnership but the absence of Arteta — for two matches given his upcoming ban — could undermine the level of service to the front two.
The onus will be on the likes of Van der Meyde, Simon Davies and Leon Osman in midfield and on Phil Neville to get forward down the right as he did to such great effect against Newcastle two games ago.
Lyndon Lloyd
The Third Round of the FA Cup sees Everton and Blackburn Rovers lock horns for the 151st time overall and the 11th time in the FA Cup. Following the New Year’s 1:2 defeat at Manchester City.
Everton's full record against Blackburn is:
P
W
D
L
F
A
Premier League
25
10
4
11
29
Division One
106
44
23
39
200
182
Division Two
6
0
2
FA Cup
7
1
18
9
Charity Shield
3
Zenith Data Cup
TOTALS:
150
64
30
56
252
232
The last match between the sides saw a 1:1 draw in the League at Ewood Park thanks to a Tim Cahill goal. The last meeting at Goodison Park saw a 1:0 win in February last season, again in the League, with Everton’s goal coming from James Beattie.
The last FA Cup meeting between the sides was in the 1986 Fourth Round, with Everton winning 3:1 at Goodison Park, with the goals coming from Pat Van Den Hauwe (which was his only FA Cup goal for Everton) plus a brace from Gary Lineker.
Whilst our overall record against Blackburn sees Everton with a slight edge, our home form against them sees Everton with a commanding lead, but of course, that means nothing in the Cup, plus Blackburn’s Premier League form at Goodison is miles better than the overall record:
12
5
13
53
32
120
62
8
14
77
15
146
86
Overall, it would appear that the clubs could be heading back to Ewood Park for a replay, however, if the Cup form between the sides is maintained, then Everton should see themselves in the hat for the Fourth Round, especially as they have a favourable record for the 7 January as well, both overall and in the FA Cup:
17
21
22
The last match on this day was the Third Round FA Cup match against Millwall last season at the New Den, which saw Leon Osman score in a 1:1 draw.
Everton’s record against Top-Flight opponents in the Third Round is also quite favourable, with Everton winning 23 and drawing 11 of the 44 Third Round matches against Top Flight opposition in the FA Cup, whilst at Goodison Park, Everton have won 14 and drawn 5 of the 23 FA Cup matches against Top Flight opposition in the Third Round.
Steve Flanagan
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