Everton host Aston Villa on Wednesday night, in what is the most played fixture in English league history, hoping to win their first match in David Moyes' second reign.
The Toffees will be hoping that the sacking of Sean Dyche will lead to change in the club's form to drag themselves away from the relegation places, whilst Aston Villa are looking to build on their previous win in the Premier League to drive up the table towards the Champions League spots.
When these two sides met earlier in the season at Villa Park, Aston Villa won 3-2 despite Everton racing into a 2-0 lead early on
This is a game which can be very meaningful to both sides.
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New manager bounce
After the sacking of Dyche, just a few hours prior to Everton's FA Cup tie against Peterborough, David Moyes was quickly linked with the job before being implemented as his successor last Saturday.
Moyes, who has been out of a job since his contract expired with West Ham in the summer of 2024, returns to Goodison Park 11 years after his initial departure - when he was selected by Manchester United to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.
In his time away, Moyes has managed Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham twice, winning the European Conference League in 2023 with the Hammers.
He returns looking to have a similar impact to when he first arrived on Merseyside back in 2002, when he steered the club away from relegation after being appointed mid-season before enjoying 11 good years at the club.
The goal for Moyes this season is simple, keep Everton in the Premier League and hopefully even drive them up the table - but it will be a tough task for the Scotsman.
Everton have found wins hard to come by this season, only recording three wins all season, whilst also struggling to score goals.
Towards the end of the Dyche era, the Toffees looked uninspired, timid and lost as they continuously set up to play for draws against every other team in the league.
Tonight is a big chance for Moyes to show the Everton faithful that there is going to be much-needed change from the stale style of play which has led to the Toffees fearing another relegation battle.
A win would be the perfect start.
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Goalscoring troubles
Everton have scored 15 goals in 19 matches this season, the second lowest in the league behind bottom-of-the-table Southampton, who have scored 12.
Furthermore, the Toffees have scored only five goals since the beginning of November, with Wolves' Craig Dawson being the Blues top goalscorer in that time - having scored two own goals in Everton's 4-0 win against Wolves in December.
Strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto have both struggled to find the back of the net this season, having scored three between them, whilst Armando Broja has been injured for large parts of the season and will be unavailable against Aston Villa after sustaining another injury against Peterborough.
Everton have been good defensively this season, keeping seven clean sheets and only letting in 25 goals so far, however the lack of firepower up front has rendered this obsolete with Everton usually finding themselves on the wrong side of tight games.
If Moyes is to keep the Toffees up this season, he will need to find a solution to Everton's goalscoring issues - whether a change in tactics or even personnel will help that is yet to be seen.
Even though Dyche's style of play restricted the attack, they will have to be better under Moyes.
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Fresh faces in the starting 11?
A change in management can often lead to players who were previously out of favour being thrusted into the starting 11 and this could be the case for some Everton players as it was becoming increasingly clear towards the end of Dyche's reign that certain players were not cutting it.
Players such as Abdoulaye Doucoure, Jack Harrison and Vitaliy Mykolenko has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after consistently retaining their places in the starting 11 despite their sub-par performances.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of players who rarely got a look in under Dyche, with summer signing Jake O'Brien, Beto and Nathan Patterson being some of the players who appeared to be out of favour under the previous regime.
Moyes' appointment could lead to new opportunities for these players, alongside new roles for other players such as Iliman Ndiaye who was forced to play out wide despite his favoured position being behind the striker.
Jesper Lindstrom, another summer signing, has struggled to make his impact at Everton so far and has been limited to cameo appearances which may change under Moyes.
The appointment of any new manager breeds excitement throughout any football club, especially when it is the reappointment of a man who brought brighter days to Goodison Park in the past.
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Desperate for a win
A win tonight for Everton, in David Moyes' first game back, against a very good side like Aston Villa would be absolutely massive for the Toffees.
Not only could it see Everton rise to 14th, but it would also breed confidence throughout the club whilst also allowing the Blues to start looking up the table rather than fearing what is below.
Goodison Park, under the lights, desperate for a win - it is sure to be a huge night for Everton.
