Analysis of Everton’s 2022-23 Premier League fixture list, including League Cup and FA Cup fixtures

The 2023-24 Premier League fixture list is out, and Everton will begin the new season with a home game with Fulham coming visiting. The first away game comes the week after that, with a trip to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa.

The Blues will play two newly-promoted sides in Sheffield United and Luton Town in September, with the Anfield leg of the Merseyside Derby in October. The Toffees then close out November with a game against Manchester United, before a tricky December with games against Newcastle, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City among the most difficult on the slate.

January is mostly clear for FA Cup fixtures before Spurs and City in February, and United then Liverpool in March. Hopefully Everton will not still be in a relegation fight come April before they close out the season with a trip to Arsenal in mid-May, which could be a tricky fixture depending on what is at stake.

Below is Everton’s schedule in its entirety, with some quick thoughts on the best and worst months facing the Blues.

August 2023

The Blues start the season at home and play three times in August. Sean Dyche has needs all over the squad to fill, with the Blues being linked with more free agents and low-cost options. The transfer window closes on September 1st, so hopefully the Blues will have all their business sorted out well before that but hey, they’re always doing business late on so why would anything change this summer?

Per the Athletic, Everton have the 8th most difficult start to the season, taking into consideration the first five games they play and based on where their opponents finished in the table last season. Last season’s home loss in the season opener against Chelsea was also the Blues first in ten games, with a record of three wins, six draws and one loss in the last decade to start the season.

Sat 12 Aug – Home vs Fulham
The Toffees will play in their usual 3pm slot on the opening weekend with a home game against former manager Marco Silva. The Cottagers did really well last season until the long suspension for figurehead Aleksandar Mitrović derailed their campaign for a European berth and they finished in tenth place.
Everton lost 3-1 at home in mid-April in this fixture when they were sitting in 17th place and hovering just above the relegation zone. .

Sat 19 Aug – Away at Aston Villa
The Blues first away test will be against Villa who will be preparing to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League after finishing last season in seventh place. The inspired appointment of Unai Emery changed their fortunes following the sacking of former Red Steven Gerrard, and Villa only lost twice in their last fifteen games of last season.
The Blues were away at Villa Park in the second game of last season as well, losing 2-1 with an own goal from former Blue Lucas Digne their only marker.

Sat 26 Aug – Home vs Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers were strong candidates to go down after being bottom of the table at the midway point of the season, but a series of strong defensive performances saw them pull away from the relegation zone en route to a 13th place finish, five points clear of the Blues.
Everton played Wolves at Goodison Park on Boxing Day, getting stung late on the counter attack as they pushed forward looking for a winner, losing 2-1.

Wed 30 Aug – League Cup Second Round, opponent TBD
The Toffees enter the Carabao Cup competition at this stage along with the bottom thirteen sides in the Premier League.
The summer transfer window will also close at the end of this week.

Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolverhampton Wanderers FC via Getty Images

September 2023

September will have four league games, including the first game against a top six side with Arsenal coming visiting. If the Blues can enter this month with at least one win under their belts, possibly two, they should be in decent shape to pick up some more points.

Sat 02 Sep, Away at Sheffield United
The Blades are somewhat surprisingly back in the top flight after a strong showing coming in second in the Championship.
They were the worst side in the Premier League when they last came up and will be looking to not repeat that fate this coming term. The Blues’ last visit to Bramall Lane was back in December 2020 behind closed doors, with a Gylfi Sigurdsson winner propelling the Toffees into second place!

Sat 16 Sep, Home vs Arsenal
This will be Everton’s first game of the season against one of the traditional top six sides, and a good test for how prepared the Blues are for the rigors of the season.
The Blues nabbed a crucial victory at Goodison Park in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge, beating league leaders Arsenal 1-0 thanks to a James Tarkowski header.

Sat 23 Sep, Away at Brentford
Brentford continue to be hugely impressive under Thomas Frank, and under his stewardship have gone away from being relegation contenders to a consistent mid-table size. The Bees were not far off from a European spot too, just two points behind Villa in seventh.
The Blues snatched a point away in London in August last season thanks to an Anthony Gordon goal in the first half and some siege defending that saw the hosts hit the goalframe thrice before snatching an equalizer with five or so minutes left to play.

Wed 27 Sep, League Cup Third Round, opponent TBD
If the Toffees make it through the second round the Third Round is when the top seven sides in the Premier League from last season enter the draw.

Sat 30 Sep, Home vs Luton Town
The Blues will take on the Premier League new boys, having last entertained them at Goodison Park in the former Division 1 back in 1992, and a 4-0 win in the Third Round of the League Cup in 2006.

Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

October 2023

Sat 10 Oct, Home vs AFC Bournemouth
It was just a couple of weeks ago Everton played this very fixture with the spectre of relegation hovering above Goodison Park. The Cherries ended last season in 15th place, three points above the Toffees and both sides will likely go into this season looking to stave off relegation again.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s howitzer of a volley settled the Blues’ future in the Premier League and Evertonians will take another similar result next season as well.

Sat 21 Oct, Away at Liverpool
The first leg of the Merseyside Derby will be at Anfield for the first time since 2019 with both teams coming off the international break. The Reds corrected course midseason last campaign after faltering to start the season, and the Blues would like nothing more than to grab a point or three across Stanley Park.
The Blues played decently enough away at Liverpool last season but were undone on the break twice in a 2-0 defeat.

Sat 28 Oct, Away at West Ham
The Toffees will visit former manager David Moyes who is celebrating a major trophy win having just lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League in Prague last week. The Hammers are unlikely to still have Declan Rice next season, so it’ll be interesting to to see how they adjust their gameplan while playing in the Europa League.
Everton’s 2-0 defeat at London Stadium last season spelled the end of Frank Lampard’s tenure, Dyche will want to make sure this trip does not end the same way for him.

Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images

November 2023

Wed 1 Nov, League Cup Fourth Round, opponent TBD
The Toffees did not make it to the fourth round in either of the cup competitions last season, so if they are still here that would be a big improvement.

Sat 04 Nov, Home vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton somehow keeps selling players for handsome profit while letting their progressive manager and Director of Football leave, and still continue to do well. This game against the Seagulls will be pushed out to Sunday or even Monday with their participation in the Europa League.
Brighton had comprehensively beaten the Blues 4-1 at Goodison to start 2023 off on a very inauspicious note.

Sat 12 Nov, Away at Crystal Palace
The Eagles are yet to announce who will be in charge next season, with long-time manager Roy Hodgson coming back to save them from a relegation battle in 2023.
Everton gutted out a scoreless draw at Selhurst Park in late April last season which helped them survive the relegation battle.

Sat 25 Nov, Home vs Manchester United
Everton haven’t had a good record against the Red Devils in recent years and will be hoping to catch them looking ahead to their midweek Matchday 5 in the Champions League.
Alex Iwobi had put the Blues ahead at Goodison Park after just five minutes but then were reeled back in by the visitors who went on to win 2-1.

December 2023

Sat 2 Dec, Away at Nottingham Forest
Forest survived relegation on the basis of their strong home record where they were very good to close out the season. They’ll be a tough proposition at the City Ground and the Blues will try to stay ahead of them next season.
Everton put in a battling performance and spurned a couple of chances to take all three points at Forest last season, drawing 2-2.

Tue 5 Dec, Home vs Newcastle United
Eddie Howe’s high-flying Magpies will be in the UEFA Champions League next season, and his ability to rotate his squad will be put to the test with a crowded December schedule when they will be preparing to play the final matchweek of the group stages.
The Blues were soundly beaten by Newcastle in late April, the 4-1 result at Goodison pushing Everton down to 19th and likely headed for the Championship.

Sat 9 Dec, Home vs Chelsea
Mauricio Pocchetino will be making his return to the Premier League with the Stamford Bridge outfit, looking to make more sense of his billion-pound squad than any of his predecessors have, including the utterly hapless Frank Lampard.
Everton lost their season opener last season 1-0 at home to Chelsea, the first time they lost the first fixture of the season in a decade.

Sat 16 Dec, Away at Burnley
Vincent Kompany has transformed the Clarets from the rough-and-tumble days of Sean Dyche into a fluent footballing side, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain that style of play in the Premier League where the talent gap is significant.
Everton’s last game at Burnley was the famous 3-2 comeback win for then-manager Dyche when he reportedly told his players at halftime when they were behind that the Toffees ‘don’t know how to win a game’. He wasn’t wrong, but have the Blues learned anything though?

Sat 23 Dec, Away at Tottenham Hotspur
They say London is pretty at Christmas right? Well, Evertonians get to go down and complete some last-minute shopping in a trip to North London against a Spurs side that will not be in Europe next season.
The Blues lost 2-0 mid-October last season with Lampard floundering at the job.

Tue 26 Dec, Home vs Manchester City
The schedule-makers can certainly be savage at times. Playing the defending league champions on the day after Christmas when even the best of us will be nursing sore heads is a cruel joke to play on Evertonians.
Don’t bank on the Blues playing well on Boxing Day when they’ve been flat recently, and expecting anything but a romp for City like last season’s 3-0 would be foolish.

Sat 30 Dec, Away at Wolves
The Blues and Wolves have been on a similar arc for some time now, challenging each other for both 7th and 17th in recent seasons. Will 2023/24 be any different? Julen Lopetegui has already been expressing misgivings, will he still be around?
Everton’s second-last game of the just-ended season was away at Wolves, and despite going behind to a smart counter-attacking goal (damn that Traore again!), they fought back for a 1-1 draw with a heroic Yerry Mina equalizer in the ninth minute of time added on.

January 2024

Just two league games in this month, which is a good opportunity for the Toffees to bed in any new signings in the winter transfer window, but who knows what the club’s finances will look like at that time.

Sat 6 Jan, FA Cup Third Round, Opponent TBD
The Blues were unfortunate enough to be drawn last season against Manchester United, that too at Old Trafford where they won 15 of their 19 home games in the league last season. A better draw in this round should see the Blues progress.

Sat 13 Jan, Home vs Aston Villa
Villa’s striker Ollie Watkins was once upon a time behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the England pecking order, but much has changed in their recent fortunes. How many games can the Blues bank on DCL playing next season?
Last season this fixture ended 2-0 in favour of the visitors, and the Toffees will have it all to do against Emery’s side.

Sat 27 Jan, FA Cup Fourth Round, Opponent TBD
Everton had made the quarter finals (sixth round) in consecutive years before last season, so the pressure will be on to try to replicate those performances.

Tue 30 Jan, Away at Fulham
The Blues close out January going to Craven Cottage. Will they still be in the FA Cup? With the transfer window about to close, will the Blues still be looking to patch holes in the squad?
Everton put in a strong defensive performance in the end of October to come away from this fixture with a 0-0 draw.

Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images

February 2024

This could become a very challenging month for the Blues as they take on a couple of heavyweights and a game against Brighton who will be stretched with their Europa League exertions.

Sat 03 Feb, Home vs Tottenham
The Blues don’t have a good record against Spurs in recent years, and who knows what kind of team they will be this coming season with formers Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in charge.
Everton drew at home against Spurs last season with that magical knuckleball of a shot from distance by Michael Keane in the ninetieth minute, but the Blues last win at home against them was over a decade ago, with that legendary come-from-behind victory after two goals in time added on from Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jelavic.

Sat 10 Feb, Away at Manchester City
How Everton, with Frank Lampard in charge no less, somehow held the champions to a 1-1 draw last season, we will never quite know, but they’ll have a heck of a time trying to replicate that result against a City side that only gets stronger by the year.
They will be preparing for their (likely upcoming) Champions League Round of 16 game so there’s a chance to catch them unprepared.

Sat 17 Feb, Home vs Crystal Palace
The Blues were pretty miserable at home last season, slipping to defeats against teams that they usually put away at Goodison Park with ease. Next season is the time to start fixing that, and this should be one that the Blues always take three points in.
Everton have done well at home against Palace, and if they can draw or win again it’ll be going ten years since the last Eagles win at Goodison.

Sat 24 Feb, Away at Brighton
Away games against two of the biggest ball possession teams in the league does not make for a fun schedule.
Which is why last season’s incredible 5-1 away win at the Seagulls is so amazing. The Blues certainly packed their shooting boots for that trip to the coast, and can have Pickford to thank for keeping the score from going into rugby territory in that game.

March 2024

Two challenging games, two slightly easier ones. Two home games, two away ones. Six points, maybe?

Sat 2 Mar, Home vs West Ham
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception David Moyes gets at Goodison Park after his European triumph. Again, wasn’t that long ago that the Toffees and Hammers were close rivals, but there’s a gap that’s opened up between them.
The hapless Neal Maupay only scored one league goal last season, and it was a pretty crucial one as he grabbed the sole goal of the game at Goodison against the Hammers for three much-needed points.

Sat 9 Mar, Away at Manchester United
The Red Devils were very good at home last season, and won all three games against the Blues including two at Old Trafford so it’ll be unlikely they can get too much here. The Toffees last win at the Theatre of Dreams was over a decade ago with that famous winner from Bryan Oviedo.
Everton lost 2-0 in early April away at United last season.

Sat 16 Mar, Home vs Liverpool
The Blues were surprisingly competitive last season against their bitter rivals, and in general have played them tough at home over the last decade, but the last home derby win came back in 2010. It would be nice to draw the curtain at the Grand Old Lady with another derby win though wouldn’t it?
Last season this fixture ended in a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Pickford standing tall between the sticks.

Sat 30 Mar, Away at AFC Bournemouth
The Blues have never won a league game away at Bournemouth. Now that you’ve let that settle in, part of that is because the Cherries haven’t been in the top flight until 2015.
Everton lost 7-1 in aggregate over two consecutive games last season at the Vitality Stadium between the league and the FA Cup. The fact that Lampard somehow still kept his job after that fiasco was incredibly symbolic of the lethargy that has plagued this Board. Sacking him and appointing his replacement before the World Cup break would most certainly have been better timing than the very last day of the January transfer window.

Photo by Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images

April 2024

With five games on tap, April is going to be an incredibly busy month and likely will go a long way towards determining where the Blues end up in the league table. Two of the teams they play will be fighting for the top six, one somewhere midtable and the other two likely in relegation fight they are going to be in.

Wed 3 Apr, Away at Newcastle
The trips to the Northeast always tend to be spicy affairs. Newcastle fans have always been very vocal about being relevant, and now that they are in the Champions League that insufferable lot will only get louder. Oh well, we can only remember the time Sheikh Mansour (owner of Manchester City) was turned down by the venerable Everton chairman Bill Kenwright when he was looking to invest in a British club.
The Blues lost 1-0 away at Newcastle back in October ‘22, managing just one shot all game, and that too wasn’t even on target. Ouch.

Sat 6 Apr, Home vs Burnley
Will this be some kind of relegation six-pointer? Will the Blues actually be needing to win this game to keep pace with the Championship winners? Who knows?!
Everton’s last home game against the Clarets was actually a success for Rafa Benitez against Dyche, hopefully this time our bald-headed martinet can beat their bald-headed manager.

Sat 13 Apr, Away at Chelsea
Battle of the Blues at Stamford Bridge. One of the biggest questions of the upcoming season will be whether Chelsea are going to play like a top six side, or a mid-table side.
Everton’s last win at Chelsea was way back in the early days of the Premier League, with a Paul Rideout goal setting up a 1-0 win back in 1994. Last season this fixture ended 2-2 when Lampard was in charge of Chelsea in mid-March, a game also remembered for Ellis Simms’ only Everton league goal to date.

Sat 20 Apr, Home vs Nottingham Forest
The two sides were pretty much neck-and-neck all season long in and around the relegation zone. Will next season be the same? Will Forest sign another couple of dozen players next season as well?
Twice the Blues had edged ahead, and twice they let one-time transfer target Brennan Johnson peg them back in a 2-2 draw; the winger had grabbed one in the 1-1 draw at Goodison too, and those three goals accounted for nearly half of the eight league strikes the Wales international managed last season.

Sat 27 Apr, Home vs Brentford
Will the Bees still be sitting in a comfortable mid-table position by this time, or will they actually be looking to snatch a European berth this late in the season?
Dwight McNeil’s laser strike just 35 seconds in was the only goal of the game in a win that played a big part in the Blues’ fight for survival.

Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images

May 2024

The Toffees three games in May will likely be on opposite ends of the spectrum – two against sides likely embroiled in a relegation battle, and one against a side looking to seal a European spot. Unfortunately, the Blues only play at home once.

Sat 4 May, Away at Luton Town
The Blues traveling contingent will get to use the iconic Oak Stand entrance to Luton’s tiny 10,356 capacity ground for this one, but how much will still be at stake in the first week of May?
Everton’s last away league game at Luton Town was back in November 1991, a 1-0 win for the Blues. Since that time they have another 1-0 win there, this time in the Fourth Round of the League Cup with Tim Cahill grabbing an extra-time winner in 2007.

Sat 11 May, Home vs Sheffield United
We can probably shed the tearful farewells to Goodison Park for now because the new stadium is not going to be done until December 2024, which means the Blues will still be at Goodison Park for another half-season at least.
The last two times they took on the Blades at Goodison they lost both games without scoring. In fact the last four times they two sides have met the losing team didn’t score, so it appears the key to getting something out of this fixture is to score. Easier said than done for these goal-shy Toffees.

Sun 19 May, Away at Arsenal
Ugh. Not really excited about Everton having to travel to the Emirates [eyeroll] possibly needing a result to ensure survival. Aside from the win behind closed doors in April 2021, the Blues hadn’t actually ever won at the Emirates, a stadium that was opened in Paleolithic times 2006. And if the Gunners are going into this game still needing points for anything, then it most certainly is not a good way to end the season.

Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

As is often said when the schedule is released, at the end of the day you have to play every team in the league home and away. The order in which the games are played does make a difference depending on form, fitness and the like, but at the end of the day you have to win as many of your home games as you can with the incredible support the Blues get, and try to pick up as many points as you can on the road even if the football is sometimes less than inspiring. Up the Toffees!