Match Report

Everton are through to the third round of the EFL Cup on the back of a comfortable 4-0 victory over Yeovil at Goodison Park.

Arouna Koné came off the bench with 12 minutes left to put the icing on the cake for Ronald Koeman's side, scoring two excellent goals to round off the scoring after Aaron Lennon and Ross Barkley had put them into a commanding lead.

Barkley's goal capped a memorable evening for the Wavertree-born star. Handed the captain's armband by his manager, the 22-year-old bounced a long-range past the Yeovil 'keeper in the 68th minute and then lifted his jersey to reveal a heartfelt message to Sid Benson, the scout and influential club figure who died recently.

Everton's players wore black armbands to mark Benson's passing and acknowledge his many years of magnificent service to the club.

Koeman named a strong line-up, with Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie making their full debuts and Barkley wearing the armband.

Romelu Lukaku made his first start of the season after coming on as a substitute at West Brom on Saturday, as did Bryan Oviedo and Aaron Lennon.

Maarten Stekelenburg kept his place in goal as Koeman foregoes the "cup keeper" option, leaving Joel Robles on a bench that featured regular starters Phil Jagielka, Kevin Mirallas and Leighton Baines.

Gerard Deulofeu, who was pictured going through what might have been a late fitness test on the pitch earlier this evening, was not included in the squad.

Both sides had early sights of goal, with Lukaku curling a shot a inch over the bar from the edge of the box in the second minute while, at the other end, an under-hit Ramiro Funes Mori backpass was almost seized upon but Stekelenburg was able to smother the danger.

Lukaku then tested the Yeovil keeper from a Barkley corner but his header was saved and fired wide when well-placed a few minutes later.

In between, Lennon won a second corner with a quarter of an hour gone and Lukaku was there again but his effort was hacked off the line following a well-worked set-piece routine.

Yeovil, meanwhile, continued to try and carve out chances of their own and Matt Butcher went close from about 12 yards out after Tom Eaves had knocked the ball on but he missed the target.

Everton took the lead after 27 minutes through a well-worked passing move that ended with James McCarthy pulling the ball back for Aaron Lennon to stroke home.

The home side then had a decent shout for a penalty when Bolasie brought the down well and advanced into the box but while he appeared to have been brought down, the referee waved away appeals for a foul.

Back-to-back corners late in the first half almost led to the second goal of the game but Holgate headed wide from another dangerous Barkley delivery.

Everton probed in the early stages of the second half but the home crowd started to get restless as the score remained at 1-0.

Lukaku smashed one chance wide and failed to anticipate a bouncing ball forward that might have put him in, while Oviedo hammered an effort into the side-netting and Holgate almost connected with Lukaku's ball across goal following a Barkley free kick.

Koeman withdrew McCarthy and Holgate midway through the second half and Barkley doubled the lead shortly afterwards. The midfielder lined up a direct free kick from distance and whipped a shot past the 'keeper to make it 2-0.

Barkley completed his evening's work with 12 minutes to go when Arouna Kone came on for his second appearance of the season from the bench. And the Ivorian made it 3-0 with a terrific driving run and strike that left Krysiak in the Yeovil goal helpless.

And Koné grabbed his second with another fine solo effort, taking the ball past one defender with a clever dink, nudging it wide of another and then belting it home from close range.

The emphatic result puts the Blues into the hat for tomorrow's third-round draw.

Match Preview

With a new manager at the helm, Everton embark on the 2016-17 edition of their quest to land the one piece of major domestic silverware that has eluded the club since its inception 56 years ago.

The Blues face Yeovil Town in the second round of the League Cup — after being sponsored by Capital One for two seasons, it has now been rebranded as the EFL Cup — after being handed a home tie in the draw earlier this month.

While mindful of the ever-present threat of a banana skin tie, Ronald Koeman is likely to use the game against the League Two side as an opportunity to give some playing time to some players who haven't yet featured for the first team in the first two Premier League games, while offering the likes of Ashley Williams and Romelu Lukaku another run-out to boost their fitness.

Both players came on as substitutes at West Brom and, along with new signing Yannick Bolasie, himself a second-half introduction on Saturday, are set to start on Tuesday evening for the visit of the Glovers. It would give Goodison Park its first look at the new arrivals, both of whom are likely to key players for the Blues this season.

“For them it's really important to have game time,” Koeman said of the trio in an interview with evertontv. “In the case of Ashley, he didn't even play a friendly [over the summer] so this is a good game for him to start playing. Bolasie also is a new player; he will start tomorrow.

“And it's the same situation for Romelu because he didn't play a lot before. He played the friendly against Espanyol but after that he was out of training for 10 days and he needs game time to get into his best shape.

The likes of Tom Davies and Kieran Dowell, meanwhile, will be hoping to feature after impressing the new boss in pre-season. Both players have been selected by David Unsworth for the U23s since the start of the season but will feel that a cup tie against lower-division opposition would give them another opportunity to shine in the senior side again.

Joel Robles, meanwhile, could be in line for his first start of the campaign if Koeman elects to go the well-trodden “cup keeper” route that was so familiar to the Spaniard until he finally made the first-choice goalie spot his own last season under Roberto Martinez.

Robles has found himself back on the bench again so far this season, with Koeman favouring his compatriot Maarten Stekelenburg and the former Southampton and Fulham stopper has vindicated that faith from the manager with some fine saves in the opening two games.

Having finished last season in 19th in 2015-16, Yeovil come to Merseyside on the back of a three-game sequence without a win since they began 2016-17 with successive victories in the League over Notts County and in the EFL Cup over Walsall.

It will be their first ever competitive match against Everton in their 121-year history but ties between the two clubs have been strengthened in recent years with loan arrangements that have seen players like John Lundstram, Shane Duffy and Liam Walsh enjoy spells at Huish Park.

With respect to the League Two side, Koeman will be expecting a routine run-out and an opportunity to further build his side's fitness with the visit of Stoke on the horizon in the Premier League this coming weekend.

Kick-off: 7.45pm
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Predicted Line-up: Robles, Holgate, Jagielka, Williams, Baines, Davies, McCarthy, Barkley, Bolasie, Dowell, Lukaku

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