Aston Villa

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John McGinn has "promised" Unai Emery a bigger contribution of goals this season.

The 28-year-old, who found the net once in 36 matches in all competitions last season, got off the mark in Villa's 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday.

His finish helped Emery's side bounce back from a humbling at Newcastle on the opening weekend and they duly set a club record of eight consecutive Premier League wins at Villa Park.

“It was an awful start last week at St James’ Park – full credit to Newcastle they completely did a job on us,” McGinn said.

“It was important that we reacted. We had a full crowd here, as we always do, and it was a great day at the office.

“It was a lot more comfortable than we expected before the game. It was a great performance, great to be home and it’s nice to hear (about the club record).

“Looking back to last season, I was playing in forward positions and the manager gave me a lot of trust to get in the box and get goals.

“I promised him a few more this season and, thankfully, that’s me off the mark."

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Aston Villa fans can expect much more from versatile record signing Moussa Diaby, says head coach Unai Emery.

The France winger, 24, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in July for a fee which could rise to a reported £51.9m, showed further glimpses of his Premier League potential in Sunday's 4-0 home win against Everton.

Having scored on his Villa debut in the 5-1 opening-day defeat at Newcastle, only a superb save from Jordan Pickford denied him another goal on Sunday as Villa put hapless Everton to the sword.

Emery said: "Yes, he can add to us more goals, run behind the opponents. He can help us being versatile as a 10 or a seven.

"He can drop as a midfielder more or less. I think he can improve and he is demanding himself.

"He is young, but he is mature. I want players like that, very demanding and taking a commitment to improve and create something here with the team and individually."

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Shamoon Hafez, BBC Sport

Aston Villa have become the fifth Premier League club to sign the Muslim athlete charter, demonstrating a commitment to equality and diversity.

The charter, which is devised by Nujum Sports, recognises the needs of Muslim players and staff at the club, including a checklist to address any requirements.

Two Muslim players - Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara - featured for Villa in Sunday's 4-0 thrashing of Everton.

Villa’s EDI Lead Sam Ghatora said: “We believe that signing the Muslim athlete charter is an integral part of our work in providing support to our Muslim players and supporters.

“By understanding the Muslim faith and cultural needs, we can become more inclusive, welcoming and make everyone feel truly valued and appreciated at Aston Villa.”

Nujum CEO Ebadur Rahman added: "It is an honour to have Aston Villa join over 79 professional clubs from five different sports, who have all pledged to support their Muslim players, fans and staff.

“We will be working closely with the club for the upcoming season to make a positive impact in the sport."

We asked for your views on Sunday's game between Aston Villa and Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Aston Villa fans

Reg: Last week the injury to Tyrone left our defence all over the place, today there was confidence and togetherness. Everton are not the best team we will meet but I think we have a squad that can take on and beat any team in the Premier League.

David: 4-0 flatters us in terms of effort and intensity. Everton’s poor defending gifted us goals. There would have been more there if we’d attacked with purpose more often, instead of complacently strolling through boring ‘keep-ball’ practice at the back, especially when we so often lost the ball and played ourselves into trouble.

Terry: Played well and dominated a game sadly disrupted by several injuries to players on both sides. Game fizzled out as a spectacle in the last 20 mins as Villa cruised. Everton look to be in big trouble again this season.

Nick Solid and creative performance against a side who look like they are going to struggle again. Drifted off the pace for a couple of spells but hard to complain. Gutted to see Coutinho go down with what looks another injury. Whether he's leaving or staying that's more bad news for Emery.

Everton fans

Gerald: Absolutely woeful, Patterson tried hard but as for the rest, they need to take a long, hard look at themselves. Shameful effort, there has to be more quality than what we've seen today. I am gutted and I hope the players feel the same.

Peter: Absolutely diabolical. No heart, no skill, not fit to pull the jersey on. Championship here we come.

Simon: Much is made of a lack of goalscorers, but Everton's midfield is absolutely woeful. Onana is a disgrace, Gana too slow and not physical enough, Iwobi not good enough and the same applies to Doucoure. If the engine room does not set the tone then everything is laboured and predictable. I will give Dyche until the end of September.

Bob: I am completely at a loss how a huge club like Everton have been allowed to sink so low. I have supported them for 45 years, but I can’t remember such dire times. We must blame the club's top management for years. It is fine to go for a new stadium, but it won’t be fine if we are playing in lower leagues there.

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There is a lot for Aston Villa fans to be "excited" about after they bounced back from their heavy defeat by Newcastle on the first day of the season.

The Villains showed no signs of a hangover from their opening day loss as they thumped Everton 4-0 at Villa park and their good work in the transfer window could be setting them up for another good season according to The Times' football reporter Charlotte Duncker.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, she said: "They've been really savvy in the transfer window, everything seems to be going excellently.

"A lot of these players come in and there is a lot of hype about them, and you always wonder are they going to live up to the hype?

"But every time Diaby was on the ball you just looked at him and thought he was going to do something exciting, the way he knitted together the attacks, I thought he linked up really well with Leon Bailey as well. He had a lot better of a game than he did against Newcastle last week so there's lots to be excited about for this Aston Villa team.

"It was a really positive performance from them all over the pitch."

Listen to the full discussion from 32'30" on BBC Sounds

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Lewis Stevenson says facing Aston Villa - and former team-mate John McGinn - will be "definitely up there" in terms of career highlights, but the veteran left-back says Hibernian cannot afford to get caught up in the big occasion presented by the Europa Conference League play-off.

Hibs warmed up for Villa's first-leg visit on Wednesday with a workmanlike 2-1 Viaplay Cup win at home to second-tier Raith Rovers.

Stevenson "knew it was going to be tough" as the Kirkcaldy side have some "lovely footballers" but conceded Hibs' "domestic form needs to get a bit better".

He thinks two rounds of European football took its toll on a squad he describes as "not the biggest in the world" but stressed the victory over Luzern in the previous round showed what they are capable of.

"Luzern are a really good team," the 35-year-old told BBC Scotland. "I don't think they are far off Rangers or Celtic, especially over there.

"We dug in and I'm sure we'll need to do that again. We've had decent success in recent years against Rangers and Celtic and that's the kind of level we'll need to look for.

"Aston Villa might be a step up, but we've got game-plans. The gaffer can set us up well and I'm sure we're going to try to frustrate them, but we still want to have that threat on the counter attack.

"It's a massive occasion for us, a massive occasion for the fans and the club. To play an English team in a competitive game is something I never thought I'd see."

Of Scotland midfielder McGinn's return to Easter Road, he added: "I never thought I'd play against him again, so it's strange how things work out like that.

"He was a hero here. It's going to be great to see him back and I'm sure he'll get a great ovation from the fans, but it's not the John McGinn Show - it's Hibs against Aston Villa and there's 22 players starting, even more that are going to come on.

"It's 11 humans against 11 humans. Very technically gifted, very athletic humans at Aston Villa, but we'll give it our best shot."

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis of Sunday's Premier League fixtures, showing Aston Villa's 4-0 thumping over Everton and West Ham's 3-1 win over Chelsea.

If you missed match of the Day 2 then fear not- you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

Aston Villa are weighing up a bid for Arsenal's Portugal left-back Nuno Tavares, 23, as an alternative to Sevilla's 31-year-old Argentina defender Marcos Acuna. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Aston Villa captain John McGinn speaking to Sky Sports: "Last week was tough for us. Newcastle did a job on us and a lot of teams will go up there and be on the back of the same result.

"We've also had Emi (Buendia) getting injured, Tyrone (Mings) getting injured which has been a big blow. It's been tough to pick ourselves up from it but this one's for them.

"We were hungry, we were upset from last week, we were hurting. We're a good team, we had a really good pre-season. Last week was a set-back but we were so positive this week to try and turn that around and today was a brilliant performance. We probably could have added a couple more."

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to BBC Sport: "We needed to react like we did. It is not enough at the moment because after two matches we only have three points. We have to react like we did today and still be going forward.

"We had a good transition and avoided their transition. We did a very good job today. We want to create and build in this way. I feel good.

"We won today and we want to give the injured players the three points. We were thinking of them for this match. Now we have to play Europa Conference League.

"New chapter this season. We started very well here. The balance is five goals for and five against. We can feel something positive here at home like we did last year but we have to create a new way, a new strong feeling here with our supporters.

"Today we were very, very angry to try and get our performance at home and to forget last week's match. We have to learn. Today we did a lot of things good but there are some moments we can do better."

Shamoon Hafez, BBC Sport at Villa Park

In this fixture last season, former England team-mates Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were in the dugout for their respective sides.

Both teams changed their managers during the campaign, but it is clear which team has been helped most by their decision.

Spaniard Unai Emery has done a remarkable job since being appointed in October, dragging Villa away from the relegation zone to a European finish last term.

While Emery's side were taken apart by the Magpies in their opener, they did the same to Everton at their Villa Park fortress - collecting an eighth consecutive win on their own turf.

Once John McGinn put the hosts ahead, there was only going to be one winner.

Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey extended Villa's advantage before Colombian Jhon Duran netted his first for the club minutes after coming on as a substitute to add gloss to an emphatic victory.

• Aston Villa have won eight consecutive home Premier League games, their longest home league winning run since February 1990 (run of 9).

• Everton have lost both of their first two matches of a league season while also not scoring in either game for only a third time in the club’s history, after 1952-53 in the second tier and 1955-56 in the top-flight.

• Villa have now won their opening home game in each of the last four Premier League seasons, while this was their biggest margin of victory in their home opener in the league since 1976-77 v West Ham (also 4-0).

• All six of Leon Bailey's Premier League goals for Villa have been at Villa Park, the joint-most a player has scored in the competition with 100% coming at the same stadium.

• Since his Everton debut in August 2017, no goalkeeper has given away more penalties in the Premier League than Jordan Pickford (5, level with Ben Foster).

Aston Villa recovered from their opening Premier League thrashing at Newcastle by thumping woeful Everton 4-0 at Villa Park.

Unai Emery's Villa were heavily beaten 5-1 last weekend but got their campaign up and running at home with Leon Bailey having a hand in two goals.

Fine work from the fleet-footed winger allowed him to create the opener for skipper John McGinn, who clipped home a first-time finish from close range.

The hosts doubled their lead on 24 minutes courtesy of Douglas Luiz's penalty after the referee adjudged Jordan Pickford to have brought down Ollie Watkins in the box.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

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How did you rate the side's performance, Everton fans?

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There are two games being played in the Premier League on Sunday and we'll bring you every moment.

Follow all the action plus get reaction to yesterday's matches here

Chris Sutton will be making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of rivals. Next up is DJ, producer and Newcastle fan Anish Kumar.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

A lot of people got very excited about Aston Villa this season after what we saw from them following Unai Emery's arrival - but injuries to Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings, and their heavy defeat at Newcastle, have taken the shine off things a little.

Everton have bigger problems, however. In many ways, it is the same old story in that they played well against Fulham but could not take their chances and ended up losing.

Nothing has changed, because so much depends on whether Dominic Calvert-Lewin is fit to lead the Toffees' attack in this game.

If he is, Everton have got a chance. Without him, they are in trouble because Neal Maupay's confidence looks shot to bits.

I don't think this will be straightforward for Villa by any means, but the fact that Everton can't score obviously helps them a lot.

Anish's prediction: I'm very excited to see Villa this year, with Diego Carlos back from injury, plus Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby joining what was already an amazing side. It's a shame that Buendia and Mings are injured, but they will still be too strong for an Everton team who don't seemed to have improved just yet. I still think Villa will shock a lot of people this year under Emery. 4-0

Find out what Sutton and Anish predicted for the rest of the weekend's action here

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Nicolo Zaniolo said joining Aston Villa is "a chance to do big things" after joining on loan from Galatasaray.

The 24-year-old Italian midfielder will spend the 2023-24 season with Unai Emery's side after arriving on Friday.

Villa will pay a £4.25m loan fee and there is a "conditional compulsory purchase option" in the deal.

"I’m very happy to be here," he told the club website.

"When Monchi called me, I couldn’t wait to be here and to play my first minutes in this shirt for this amazing club.

"Aston Villa is one of the best teams in England and in the Premier League. I want to play and show my quality.

"Unai Emery is one of the greatest coaches in the world. And for me, this is a big occasion to show my quality.

"For the team, it’s a chance to do big things.

"The Premier League is the most important championship in the world.

"It was my dream when I was young that one day I would play in the Premier League.

"Now I’m here and I can’t wait to play."

Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Aston Villa's Premier League game against Everton on Sunday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On bringing new players in during the transfer window: "My focus is on the match ahead of us. We have to be responsible and we are being smart with the transfer window, we are working on it."

• On player injuries: "Buendia and Mings have surgery and then it will take some time until they are able to play. We have to continue, Ramsey will still be out for some weeks."

• Emery said the team have assessed last week's performance against Newcastle and know where they need to improve against Everton.

• On the internal response after the Newcastle defeat: "We try to be critical of ourselves, but they deserved to win. The players are very focused for Sunday, they know why they didn't play well."

• On expectations of Everton's attitude: "It's a tough match, they will need to win because they lost their first game. They are very competitive. We expect a lot, they want to get points like we do."

• On replicating Villa's strong home form last season: "We were strong. We have to build again at home to win points. It is a challenge to try and keep consistency we had in those matches."

• Emery's message to fans is that the team are wanting to write a new chapter and are looking forward to their support at Villa Park.

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Aston Villa are completing the final paperwork of a loan move for Galatasaray's Italy midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, which will include a £22m option to buy the 24-year-old at the end of the season. (Express and Star), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

• Aston Villa are unbeaten in their eight Premier League meetings with Everton since their return to the division in 2019 (W6 D2), having lost five of their previous six against the Toffees before this.

• Everton lost 1-0 to Fulham in their first Premier League game of the season. The Toffees lost their first two games last season, last starting a league season with two defeats in back-to-back campaigns in 1955-56 and 1956-57.

• Villa lost 5-1 to Newcastle in their opening league game of the season, their heaviest defeat in their first game since 1985-86 when they lost 4-0 to Man Utd.

• Everton have lost their last four Premier League games against Aston Villa, but they've never lost five in a row against them in their league history.