Everton Enter new Moyes Era at New Hill Dickinson Stadium | OneFootball

A new chapter begins for Everton as they bid farewell to the iconic Goodison Park and prepare to move into the state-of-the-art Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Years of frustration, marked by managerial chaos and limited ambition from the club’s leadership, nearly plunged the Toffees into the Championship.

However, David Moyes’ arrival sparked hope for a turnaround. Everton needed a wartime manager at the time of his appointment, and the feeling is that they still do.

Despite posting a 13th-place finish last season, Everton’s scoring form often flattered to deceive, casting further doubt on their hopes of returning to the upper half of the table.

It has been four years since the Merseyside outfit last secured a top-half finish, highlighting their ongoing struggle to reclaim their former stature.

Moyes’ primary objective will now be to restore the club to its former status. The veteran tactician will need to get everyone aligned and working towards the same goal to achieve it.

Without further ado, here is our Everton season preview for 2025/26.

Everton Fixtures

Everton’s 2025/26 season starts away to newly promoted Leeds United for the final game of matchday one, while their home debut at Hill Dickinson Stadium pits them against Brighton & Albion.

September hasn’t been kind to the Toffees. They take on Aston Villa at home immediately after the international break in a final warm-up for the famous Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Anfield.

The tail-end of October brings two mouth-watering clashes against Manchester City (A) and Tottenham Hotspur (H), with a trip to Old Trafford to meet Manchester United coming a month later.

Moyes’ men face newcomers Burnley on Boxing Day and complete the 2025 schedule away to Nottingham Forest.

A home match against Brentford will serve to kick things off in 2026, but the first high-profile game of the new calendar year arrives in late February when they host Man Utd.

That encounter marks the beginning of a brutal sequence, which sees the Toffees lock horns with Newcastle United (H), Burnley (A), Arsenal (A) and Chelsea (H) in succession.

The reverse Merseyside derby clash against the Reds arrives on April 18 and will mark the first-ever iteration of this rivalry at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton’s season ends at Tottenham.

Manager

Moyes flopped at Man Utd, but he has proved well-versed in helping troubled clubs find ways out of crisis.

He did so at West Ham United, and now faces a similar challenge at Everton.

After Everton’s fall from grace under Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche, Moyes brought a renewed sense of optimism when he returned to his old stomping ground in January.

The 62-year-old didn’t just help the Toffees maintain an impressive record of 73 consecutive top-flight seasons without relegation. He also guided them to their best Premier League finish since 2020/21.

Known as a relegation specialist, Moyes’ reputation precedes him, but Everton’s ambition is to fight for a European finish rather than fear for their elite status.

However, the ex-Real Sociedad boss needs adequate support from the upper management to reinforce the squad and implement a long-term vision that can steer Everton back to stability.

Transfers

Unlike recent summers, where there was little to report about Everton’s business, they’ve taken a more proactive approach this year in the Premier League summer transfer window.

In addition to turning Carlos Alcaraz’s transfer from Flamengo permanent, they’ve completed several other high-profile deals.

Highly-rated centre-forward Thierno Barry has arrived from Villarreal for a reported fee of £27.5 million to replace Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is no longer part of the squad.

Despite spending almost his entire professional career at Goodison Park, the 28-year-old failed to extend his contract and has yet to find a new club.

Ashley Young, Asmir Begovic, Mason Holgate and Abdoulaye Doucoure have also severed ties with the Toffees, while Neal Maupay joined Marseille permanently after last season’s loan.

Numerous exits have forced the club’s hand, leading them to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea in a £29m deal and bring in Mark Travers from Bournemouth.

Everton’s most significant piece of business this summer could be the signing of Jack Grealish on loan from Man City.

Prodigious left-back Adam Aznou has arrived from Bayern Munich to compete with Vitaliy Mykolenko, who was uncontested last season.

Starting XI

Despite Everton’s limited attacking options, Moyes chose a 4-2-3-1 set-up as the best-suited formation for his squad. After several exciting attacking additions, there’s no need to change the system.

Jordan Pickford has been Everton’s saviour between the sticks and remains one of the most influential figures on and off the pitch.

Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko will likely fill the full-back roles, with Jarrad Branthwaite and Michael Keane partnering in central defence.

The double pivot in midfield will probably feature Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall alongside Idrissa Gueye to offer a balance between defensive cover and ball progression.

Ahead of them, Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil are expected to operate on the wings, supporting the creative playmaker role of Grealish.

Barry will be Everton’s main goal threat up front.

(4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Dewsbury-Hall; Ndiaye, Grealish, McNeil; Barry.

Star Player

Coming off an impressive season at Villarreal, Barry joins with high expectations and carries a significant responsibility.

However, all eyes will be on Ndiaye, who became one of the fan favourites in his first season at Everton.

The 25-year-old winger netted nine goals in 33 Premier League outings last term, outshining all other Toffees forwards.

He now has to prove it wasn’t just beginner’s luck.

Prediction

Everton finished last season on a high, winning three consecutive matches, and will aim to continue in the same vein at the start of the new campaign.

However, they’ve been synonymous with underwhelming starts over the years, and flipping the script in 2025/26 could be key to the Toffees’ hopes of fighting higher up the table.

It’s hard to back the perennial strugglers to achieve that with conviction. At the same time, another season-long fight against the drop should be off the table.

We can easily envisage this refreshed Everton side falling just shy of the top half of the standings.

Predicted finish: 11th.

Watch Premier League Live on TV

All 380 Premier League games are shown on Sky Sports and TNT Sports in the UK, while NBC Sports holds the rights to Premier League games in the USA. See our Premier League live streaming page for more information.

Read Next: Our full Premier League 2025/26 preview (with links to all individual Premier League team previews).