Everton welcome Wolves to Goodison Park (3pm kick-off BST) on Saturday looking to kick-start the new Premier League campaign with their first win of the season.
Gary O'Neil's men arrive on Merseyside having made a similar start as the Blues, producing an imposing opening performance at Old Trafford, but one that ultimately ended in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.
They then suffered a heavy home 4-1 defeat to Brighton last week and will, therefore, be desperate to produce a response and secure their first Premier League points of the campaign.
The History...
Everton and Wolves have an identical Premier League record from their 18 meetings in the competition (W6, D6, L6) - and both have scored the exact same number of goals in those contests (22). In all competitions, though, the Toffees do edge the head-to-head clashes between the two (W32, D21, L26).
Wolves have enjoyed the better of the rivalry in more recent times, avoiding defeat in each of the past four clashes. An injury-time Yerry Mina strike in May denied the side from the Black Country registering four successive wins against the Toffees for the first time in 63 years.
The Opposition...
It has proven to be a tough summer for Wolves who have lost some key players such as Raul Jimenez and Ruben Neves.
Manager Julen Lopetegui also left the club just days before the start of the season. He was quickly replaced by former Bournemouth manager Gary O'Neil who'll be intriguingly taking up a seat on the opposition's dugout at Goodison Park for the second time in Everton's past three home matches, having been there for the season finale with the Cherries in May.
Beyond looking to improve on Wolves' 13th-placed finish from 2022/23, O'Neil will be keen to add more fluidity to his side's attacking play. They've averaged less than a goal a game across the past three Premier League seasons and finished the last campaign having scored the lowest number of goals in the division (31).
The Key Threat...
Hwang Hee-Chan grabbed a consolation goal for Wolves in their 4-1 defeat against Brighton last week. He was also the scorer of Wolves' most recent goal before that, which came against Everton in May's meeting. The South Korean international also netted on his last visit to Merseyside, in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in January.
The Stats...
- Sean Dyche has lost just one of his 12 management meetings against Wolves (W5, D6) and is unbeaten in the past seven Premier League games against them.
- Although Everton have conceded five league goals so far, they have faced just 22 shots, only three teams faced fewer after the first two rounds.
- Wolves have won their past two away league games against Everton, as many as they had in their previous 16 visits to Goodison Park (D5 L9). They've never won three in a row away to the Toffees before.
- Everton have never lost their opening three league games without scoring a goal.
- Following defeats against Manchester Utd and Brighton, Wolves could lose their opening three games in a Premier League season for the second time in the past three campaigns (also in 2021/22).
- Wolves are winless in their past nine Premier League away games (D2, L7), losing each of the previous five while failing to score in the past four. They last lost six on the bounce on the road in December 2011, while they last failed to score in five consecutive top-flight away matches back in October 1981.
- Despite losing their opening two games, only Brighton (43) have attempted more shots across the opening two Premier League matchdays than Wolves (39).
The referee...
Craig Pawson will take charge of Saturday's clash. He was the man in the middle for three of Everton's games last season, including the Boxing Day clash with Wolves at Goodison Park
The only other Premier League game he has refereed this season was Manchester City's 3-0 win at Burnley, showing no yellow cards and one red.
