By OkayGoal
Everton go for a third straight win on Friday night when Frank Lampard brings Coventry City to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and David Moyes still can’t say whether Jack Grealish will be anywhere near the squad.
Everton sit seventh, only two points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, after three wins, four draws and two defeats from nine league games. That’s a strong return for a squad that took plenty of criticism for a quiet summer window.
Coventry are 16th on nine points, but only three behind eighth-placed Bournemouth. They lost their first four Premier League games, then won three of the next five against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Sunderland. This is also the Sky Blues’ first trip to Everton’s new ground, with a manager who ran the Toffees for 12 months until January 2023.
Everton vs Coventry kick-off, date and venue
Date: Friday 6 November 2026
Kick-off: 8pm (UK time)
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
Everton have warned supporters to set off early. Planned engineering works on the Merseyrail network mean replacement buses between Hunts Cross and Moorfields for fans coming from south Liverpool, so anyone travelling that way should check their route before Friday.
Why history favours the Sky Blues
Everton lead the overall head-to-head 37 wins to 23, but home comforts have been rare in this fixture. They have won only one Premier League game at home against Coventry, a 2-0 win at Goodison Park in April 1999.
The last time the two met on Everton’s patch, in December 2000, Coventry won 2-1. They have won two of the last three meetings overall, and lost only three of their 18 Premier League games against Everton.
Everton team news: is Grealish back?
Nobody outside the club seems to know. Grealish missed the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal through illness, was left out of the Carabao Cup win over Newcastle for a breach of club discipline, and then stayed on Merseyside for Monday’s league game because, in the club’s words, he was “not match fit”.
Moyes has kept it short. Asked whether the Manchester City loanee would be back for Coventry, he said: “I don’t know yet.” Asked whether there was still a way back for him, he answered: “Of course there is, yes.”
The bigger question may be whether Everton need him right now. They beat Newcastle 3-1 in the cup and then won 1-0 at St James’ Park without him, and Tyrique George has been bright on the left. It was the 20-year-old’s shot that Lukas Hornicek let slip through his hands for Thierno Barry to tap in the winner.
Everton otherwise report no fresh injuries. Jarrad Branthwaite went off on 77 minutes on Monday, with Michael Keane on in his place, but Moyes played it down: “Jarrad went off, he was cramping in both legs. We don’t think it’s too serious but obviously he’s been out for a couple of weeks.”
There is competition everywhere else. Harrison Armstrong has started every league game, James Garner is the club’s reigning Player of the Year, and Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard and Charly Alcaraz are all pushing for minutes behind Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has made the No.10 role his own. On the right, Merlin Rohl, Brennan Johnson and Tyler Dibling are all options, while Jake O’Brien and Ainsley Maitland-Niles cover right-back.
Coventry team news
Aurele Amenda (calf) and Haji Wright (thigh) are out. Josh Eccles and Luke Woolfenden are back working on the grass but are not ready to rejoin the main group.
Bobby Thomas missed the Sunderland game with a calf problem and Frank Onyeka with a groin strain. Lampard wouldn’t give anything away on either: “We’ll see for the game.” After the Sunderland win he suggested Onyeka could miss this one but should be ready after the international break.
Grimes or Torp?
The selection call that matters most is in midfield. Lampard dropped his captain Matt Grimes for the first time against Sunderland and handed Victor Torp his first Premier League start. Lampard called it a “difficult” decision, and it worked: Coventry won 3-1.
The numbers behind it are interesting. Both players’ average position sat on the centre spot, Torp against Sunderland and Grimes against Fulham the week before. But Coventry played more forward passes with Torp in the side (147 of 338, compared with 123 of 362), and their long balls went up from 52 to 71. Torp also had two key passes and was credited with the assist for Jack Rudoni’s deflected goal, while Grimes came on for the last eight minutes to calm things down.
Ethan Pinnock has worn the armband in Grimes’ absence, and Lampard singled him out for praise along with Stephen Mfuni, the teenage centre-back who has started the season so well.
What Lampard said about Moyes and Everton
Lampard spoke warmly about his old club. “Things have moved on a lot and I think they’ve got a strong squad in a sense,” he said. “But I think a manager also maximises that. That’s been apparent in their start to the season, apparent in their two performances against Newcastle. [They are a] very good unit, very good understanding of what they want to do and the team that they are, so it’ll be a tough match for us.”
He was just as clear that the Sunderland win is already forgotten. He told Premier League Productions: “When you’re in the zone enjoyment of a win after Sunderland is pretty short-lived because you switch your attentions very much to the next game and understand relaxation and over-complacency is the biggest danger in this game.”
He also had a message for those out of the team: “If they don’t understand that and don’t be a good teammate when they’re not playing, and don’t push and try and show on the training pitch that they deserve to be playing, then they’ll struggle to get in this team.”
Coventry made 12 signings in the summer for around £130m, and five new faces started against Sunderland, including Yann Gboho on his Premier League debut. Lampard is happy to see them settling: “I think it’s nice that in nine games you’re seeing that now, pretty even push of the new players coming in, understanding what we do, how we train, how we behave, what’s the demands of the team.”
Who decides this one?
Thierno Barry
Eight goals in 12 appearances this season, and the winner on Monday. Barry isn’t always tidy, but he keeps turning up in the right places, and against a Coventry back line that may be without Thomas, that matters.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Everton’s No.10 was the standout on Tyneside, and his captain has already said he should be in the England squad. If Torp starts again, Dewsbury-Hall will be the man he spends most of the night chasing.
Jack Rudoni
Coventry’s top scorer with four goals, the 25-year-old plays behind Taiwo Awoniyi and is the man most likely to make something happen on the break. He scored against Sunderland, the side Coventry beat to leave Sunderland’s head coach under pressure at the bottom.
Everton vs Coventry predicted lineups
We expect Moyes to stick with the side that won at Newcastle. Grealish isn’t in our XI, because even if he is cleared to return, George has done nothing to lose his place. Branthwaite should be fine after the cramp.
Everton predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Armstrong, Garner; Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, George; Barry
For Coventry, we think Lampard sticks with Torp after a winning debut, keeps Mfuni and Pinnock together at the back and keeps Gboho in the side after his debut.
Coventry predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Mfuni, Pinnock, Dasilva; Yirenkyi, Torp; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Gboho; Awoniyi
Prediction: Everton 2-1 Coventry
Coventry are in form and history says they don’t fear this trip, but Everton have beaten Newcastle twice in four days without Grealish, and Moyes’ side are hard to break down. We think Coventry score, but Everton have just enough with Barry in this kind of form. Everton 2-1 Coventry.