Aston Villa's tough run of fixtures continues this weekend, as they make the trip to Merseyside to visit Everton on Saturday afternoon.
Going into the game bottom of the table, having only won one of their first 12 Premier League games, Villa are desperate for points as they look to climb out of the relegation zone.
Things have got better recently, with new manager Remi Garde helping the team to a 0-0 draw at home to Manchester City last time out, putting an end to a run of seven consecutive league defeats.
It remains whether to be seen if that just came as a result of having a new manager in charge, or if Garde really has the potential to turn Villa around. May that be true or not, he'll learn much from coming up against an improving Everton side.
The Toffees sit 9th in the table, having lost just three of their first 12 games. Unbeaten in three games, they'll be hoping to use the momentum from their last home game, a 6-2 thumping of Sunderland, to see off Villa.
Ahead of the game, VAVEL Aston Villa caught up with Lewis Richards, Everton fan and sports student at Newcastle-under-Lyme-College, to get his views ahead of the game.
Q: Lying 9th in the table after some difficult looking fixtures, are you pleased with Everton's start to the season?
Lewis Richards: It's a difficult question, because the teams we've played so far have given us some tough tests. I think that half of the time we've looked great, ie beating Chelsea and Southampton, and looked like we could potentially beat anyone. However, the other half we've looked average and been showing signs of the disappointing last season, which of course nobody wished for a repeat of.
Q: You've shown signs of quality with a few impressive victories this season, which one has pleased you most?
LR: The wins against Sunderland and Chelsea were brilliant, stuffing goals in for the Goodison Park crowd is always brilliant, but personally I loved the Southampton game most.
Winning 3-0 away from home, we showed the damage we can potentially cause teams with our attacking threat - and proved that when that Romelu Lukaku turns up, he's hard to stop.
Q: With a third of the season gone, which individuals have been the most impressive, and who's underperformed in a blue shirt?
LR: I think a few players have really impressed this season, including Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu and Brendan Galloway. Out of them all, the latter is who has impressed me most, because being thrown in at the deep end as a 19 year old knowing you're the only left back option is a difficult task, but he's passed it with flying colours and been a revelation on the left side.
The problem will come when Leighton Baines returns in the next couple of weeks, so Galloway could be sent out on loan to gain more experience, meaning it's worth keeping an eye on that.
The player that hasn't impressed as much as I, and every Everton fan, would have hoped is Kevin Mirallas. A contract extension in the summer looked like it could have reignited his Everton career, but it hasn't been that way. He's started on the bench for nearly all of the season, and it doesn't look promising at this moment in terms of his future at the club.
I have to mention Tim Howard as well, as he's been as poor as ever. Roberto Martinez has disagreed with most Everton fans saying that he'll pretty much be staying in goal no matter what, angering a lot of us seeming as though we have the perfect replacement in Joel Robles.
Q: Whilst things are going fairly well for Everton at the moment, they certainly aren't for Villa. Why do you think the Villans have been so poor this season?
LR: Haha, this seems to be the big question on probably every Aston Villa fans' mind at the moment. In my opinion, it's been down to a few things. Firstly, selling Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph left a huge hole in the side and what seemed like the entirety of Ligue 1 was brought in to replace them.
With them making something like 11 or 12 signings, I think they've got played it wrongly doing this, because it's too risky for a side that had struggled for the last few seasons to bring in a bunch of foreign players that will take time to settle in. However, they could eventually start to gel under Remi Garde, but we'll have to wait and see if they can do that before it's too late.
Q: Many would consider Everton as heavy favourites for the game, but which Villans do you think the Blues need to be wary of?
LR: Honestly, I wouldn't use the term huge favourites, because anything can happen in these type of games as you never know which Everton are going to turn up.
I was impressed with the way Villa defended in their last game against Man City, and I'm sure they'll be setting out to do the same to Everton on Saturday.
The players that could provide a threat to us are probably Rudy Gestede, if he shakes off the injury he picked up on international duty, because we always seem to struggle against those type of strikers. Adding to that, if Adama Traore plays then I'll be worried because his pace could cause a not 100% fit Galloway a problem down the wing. Also, Carles Gil has the ability to produce a moment of magic, so he's another to watch out for.
Q: Finally, what's your prediction for the game?
LR: It's a tricky one for us, but I'll be positive and go for a 2-1 win for the Toffees - after almost definitely conceding first!