Preston vs Everton: Moyes Aims for Victory at Deepdale
The floodlights will be on at Deepdale on Wednesday night, but the nostalgia can wait. David Moyes goes back to the club that launched his managerial career, yet there is nothing sentimental about his mission. Everton arrive as a Premier League side in rhythm, Preston as Championship strugglers searching for a pulse.
Kick-off is 8pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, in an EFL Cup second-round tie that looks, on current form, lopsided.
Everton sharp, Preston stumbling
Everton’s season has started with clarity and purpose. A 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League was not flawless, but it was full of intent. Palace carved out a couple of big first-half chances, then paid for their wastefulness when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall thrashed in a superb opener. From that moment, Moyes’s side controlled the tempo and never really loosened their grip.
That performance underlined something simple: Everton look ready. While several top-flight clubs have stumbled out of the blocks, Moyes’s team already carries the snap of a side that had its homework done in pre-season.
The manager is likely to rotate with Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth on the horizon, and Dewsbury-Hall is a prime candidate for a breather. Even so, Moyes knows what a proper cup run would mean to Everton supporters. Expect experience in the XI, and serious quality waiting on the bench.
Preston, by contrast, are already under strain.
Paul Heckingbottom’s team sit on zero points after two Championship defeats. The opening-day derby at Bolton was lost 2-1, the damage done in a poor first half. Any hope of a reaction at home to Wolves vanished quickly; a 3-1 scoreline flattered Preston. Wolves were 3-0 up and cruising before Jordan Thompson’s stoppage-time consolation.
The numbers paint a bleak picture. Preston have lost five of their last seven games. They have gone 18 matches without a clean sheet. They have conceded first in seven of their last eight. This is not a side that grows into games; it is one that chases them.
Firepower missing at the wrong time
Heckingbottom’s problems deepen the closer you get to the penalty area.
Against Wolves, Preston lacked any real cutting edge. Their only senior centre-forward, Jusef Erabi, was forced off midway through the second half and is now a doubt. Brad Potts is out, Theo Carroll’s ankle needs assessing, and the squad already looked light.
Last season’s figures hardly reassure. North End scored just 55 goals in 46 league matches and could not keep hold of their leading scorer. Lewis Dobbin, who hit ten league goals on loan from Aston Villa, has gone to Southampton after that temporary spell. Milutin Osmajic, responsible for eight league goals, was left out at the weekend with a move to Genoa in the works.
That leaves Heckingbottom short of forwards, short of goals, and short of time. He needs late transfer business to give Preston any real chance of a positive campaign. At the same time, he cannot ignore the league table. With a trip to Charlton looming at the weekend, he may feel compelled to juggle his selection here, protecting legs for a more realistic points haul.
Depth and danger: Everton’s edge
Everton, in contrast, can shuffle without losing too much quality.
They have been in every EFL Cup third-round draw since 2002, and this tie should be well within their reach. The visitors have scored in eight of their last nine fixtures and carry threats across the pitch.
One of those threats is likely to step out of the shadows on Wednesday: Beto.
The powerful centre-forward, Everton’s top league scorer last season with nine goals, is expected to be promoted from the bench to the starting XI. He is not a ruthless finisher in the classic sense, but he is a magnet for chances. With Preston’s back line under constant strain and centre-back Jordan Storey already booked ten times last term, Beto will fancy the battle.
He looks a strong candidate to strike first at Deepdale.
How they might line up
Preston are set up to contain, but even that comes with caveats.
A probable 4-2-3-1 could see Freddie Iversen behind a back four of Pol Valentin, Storey, Liam Gibson and Vukcevic. McCann and Thompson should anchor midfield, with Burgzorg, Devine and Small supporting Lang in the lone striker role. Erabi may only make the bench, if he is involved at all. Clarke, Hughes, Lindsay, Leroy, Gryba and Moran offer limited attacking variation among the substitutes.
Everton are also expected to go 4-2-3-1, but with a very different feel. Jordan Pickford should start in goal, protected by Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitaliy Mykolenko. Armstrong and Hackney can patrol the base of midfield, freeing Iliman Ndiaye, Alcaraz and Johnson to work behind Beto. On the bench, Dibling, Dewsbury-Hall, Barry, Branthwaite, Garner, Rohl and George give Moyes options all over the pitch.
Timothy Iroegbunam (adductor) and Christian Norgaard (match fitness) remain unavailable, yet Everton’s depth still looks far superior.
The stakes at Deepdale
For Everton, this is about momentum and standards. A professional job, a place in the round of 32, and a statement that they intend to treat the cups seriously.
For Preston, it is about something more fragile: belief. Another heavy defeat, in front of their own fans and on national television, would only tighten the pressure around Heckingbottom and a squad already short on confidence and goals.
Moyes once walked these corridors as the young manager trying to punch upwards. On Wednesday night, he brings the heavyweight. Can Preston, with their brittle form and blunted attack, really land a blow?
