Sean Dyche arranges extra Everton fixture ahead of Aston Villa clash

Everton manager Sean Dyche has admitted some of his players are not yet up to speed as they prepare to face Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend.

Villa will play host as Unai Emery and his men look to bounce back from their opening day defeat against Newcastle United. With Villa suffering from injury problems of their own, Everton may also be short as Dyche has revealed some of his players are not quite ready for top flight action.

The Toffees will therefore be playing an extra friendly this week before they travel to Villa on Sunday (2pm kick-off). The aim will be to help some of their players who are playing catch-up having missed parts of pre-season, including striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin,

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“We’re playing a game and there’s a number of players, not just Dom (Calvert-Lewin), that need to play in that game,” Dyche said.

“Dom’s different because he’s finishing his rehab but some of the other players need minutes because they need to play having missed chunks of pre-season. Myko (Vitalii Mykolenko) and Arnie (Arnaut Danjuma), people like that, they need football.”

Meanwhile, Villa have confirmed that both Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia have suffered long-term knee injuries. Mings will require surgery ahead of a lengthy recovery process, and the centre-back has sent a message of thanks to the supporters for their backing.

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