25 min: Pickford skulls a dreadful pass upfield that's easily intercepted. Groans. The keeper's nearly punished severely when Gboho advances down the inside-left channel and shoots, but the ball sails wide of the left-hand post.
23 min: Everton probe down both flanks, calmly and confidently. No rush. Then suddenly Dibling picks up the pace down the right and shuttles a pass to Barry, just inside the box. Barry floats a cross that's easy pickings for Rushworth. A disappointing end to a period of Evertonian play that was easy on the eye.
21 min: More space for Dasilva down the left. This time he's able to whip a cross into the box. Rudoni is in a bit of space, ten yards out, but can't adjust his body shape to steer a header goalwards. The ball slaps harmlessly wide left. That's whistled Coventry's xG all the way up to 0.04. Baby steps.
20 min: Dasilva and Gboho try to get something going for Coventry down the left, but their cute interplay, sprinkled by a spot of juggling, is comprehensively interrupted by Tarkowski. Attack over.
18 min: Everton now top the possession stats, having had 52 percent of the ball overall, which shows how much the momentum has swung in the last 11 minutes. The home side well on top.
16 min: George swings in a cross from the left. Torp attempts to head clear, but under pressure can only send the ball backwards and out for a corner on the left. The set piece is played short, then finally hit deep by Garner; Branthwaite can't keep the ball in at the far stick. Goal kick. Meanwhile Richard Hirst, of sixth-minute assumptions fame, is back: "I well remember David Moyes's first game as Everton manager: it was against Fulham and Everton scored in the first minute, going on to win 2-1. I've borne a grudge against him ever since, so it was a big effort on my part to send the previous message of support for Everton!"
15 min: This already doesn't feel like it's going to be a 0-0. The xG not quite telling that story: it's currently 0.23 to a big fat zero in Everton's favour.
13 min: George makes a nuisance of himself down the left and earns a free kick. Dewsbury-Hall swings the set piece into the mixer … at which point pinball-style bedlam erupts. The ball bagatelles in the six-yard box. Armstrong dinks over Rushworth and tries to head home from the closest of ranges … only for Torp to telescope a leg and hook clear. Barry also tries to force home, but Coventry hold firm and then the whistle goes for a handball by the striker. Well that was fun.
11 min: Dewsbury-Hall drags a meek shot wide right. Then Everton come again, Garner going long down the inside-right channel, finding Dibling free … but Dibling, making his first Premier League start of the season, can't bring the ball down. Both teams are looking lively in attack.
9 min: Everton respond to that minor shock well. Dewsbury-Hall probes down the left; Mfuni closes the door. Pinnock then denies Barry as he probes on the other flank. Finally Mykolenko has a bash from the right-hand edge of the D, and Rushworth parries well.
7 min: Coventry have enjoyed 63 percent of possession so far. They're looking confident. Yirenkyi drops deep on the left and sends a diagonal into the box hoping to find Awoniyi. Too much height, though the ball then nearly creeps into the bottom right, and it's not clear Pickford had his bearings there. Goal kick. Inches away from embarrassment.
6 min: Mfuni passes back weakly and nearly lets Barry in. Coventry clear their lines just in time. Other than that, it's been a quiet start in terms of action; both sets of fans are giving it plenty however. "I think we're all with Mary Waltz on this one," assumes Richard Hirst. "So come on Everton, for Mary's sake; she deserves it, living under the orange one. Sorry, Coventry supporters."
4 min: In other former-rival news, Awoniyi, erstwhile of Liverpool, tries to make good down the right. He doesn't get anywhere. He never played a minute for Everton's city rivals, either.
2 min: Coventry tonight become the 45th different club David Moyes has faced as a Premier League manager. Their fans are currently giving Dewsbury-Hall an ear-splitting what-for as a former Leicester star. The M69 representing.
Everton get the ball rolling. The Hill Dickinson loud. "Not only did the aforementioned David Speedie just miss out on the FA Cup and Charity Shield with Coventry, but also played for Liverpool between their league title in 1990 and FA Cup in 1992," notes Tim Woods. "He then left Blackburn a little before their league title. Not the luckiest career, but a fondly remembered name for all football fans of that era."
It's that time …
… so here come the players. No sounding of the usual siren, as a mark of respect on remembrance weekend. Everton in their royal blue, Coventry in second-choice white tops. We'll be off once the Last Post has sounded. RIP the fallen.
Mr 592 II talks to Sky. "I'm really proud of [equalling Harry Catterick's record] to be honest … it's not easy for any manager to manage one club for 592 games … the world we're in now, managers don't get that long … so I've been really privileged to work under really good people who gave me the opportunity to manage this club … the first time here was a lot longer … this time has been just a couple of years but I'm enjoying it … Coventry are a good side … they won the Championship well … they started slow in the Premier League but they're back in it now … I want to see if [Tyler Dibling] can do it on the main stage … see more from him … it's a good opportunity to give him."
Pre-match postbag: Evertonians Telling It As They See It edition. "Greetings from almost liberated California. The thrashing of a certain 'orange' gentleman has allowed me to have zero anxiety about today's Everton tilt. I'm happy no matter what happens" – Mary Waltz
"I admire the optimism of Everton potentially going into fourth with a five-goal margin of victory today. I watch almost every single game and I struggled to recall the last time they scored five in the league; turns out it was the famous 5-1 win at Brighton in May 2023 that helped them stay up that season. At home, we have to go back to September 2020 when they beat West Brom 5-2 behind closed doors at Goodison. The last time in front of home fans? Their 6-3 win over Bournemouth in February 2017 when Romelu Lukaku scored four. Let's just say Everton aren't generally banging in goals for fun" – Matt Burtz
Coventry boss Frank Lampard - who having managed Everton 44 times, sits just 548 games behind the total David Moyes will be hitting tonight – speaks to Sky Sports. "I saw [the Hill Dickinson Stadium] in its early stages … it's amazing to see the end product … what a stadium for a great football club … good to be here … but it's more about the game … [Everton] are a strong team … [Coventry] are in a good moment … a good feeling [after the Sunderland win] … we have to show it consistently … reproduce good things … be on our game … [Jack Rudoni] believes in his talent … he's got a lot of it … he's said 'give me the ball and I'll show you what I can do at this level' … hopefully that rubs off on other players."
… and on that subject, kind of, here's Andrew Beasley. He crunches the data, and explains why a Coventry win tonight would be a huge deal for Frank Lampard and his Sky Blues.
To the excited chatter of playgrounds up and down the country members of a certain jaded generation, this fixture is a re-run of the 1987 General Motors FA Charity Shield. Coventry, who had won the FA Cup just nine weeks previously, took 35,000 fans to Wembley, a record for the season curtain-raiser, while Everton supporters, making their eighth appearance at the grand old pile in four years, were comparatively thin on the ground. But the latter were the ones who got to celebrate, Wayne Clarke scoring the only goal just before the break, while Kevin Ratcliffe popped Cov's new £750,000 record signing David Speedie in his pocket. All the post-match talk was of Everton retaining their First Division title: they ended the season in fourth; City, hoping to build on their breakthrough cup win, finished tenth. Both clubs were slightly disappointed with those returns back then; they'd deal on them for this season, right here, right now.
David Moyes = Harry Catterick. Well, not quite: Top Catt did win two league titles (1963 and 1970) and Everton's first FA Cup in 33 years (1966) after all. But in another way: yes! Our man Tom Garry reports.
With David Moyes tonight set to equal Harry Catterick's all-time record of 592 matches in charge of Everton across his two spells at the club, his colleague, the Everton women's team head coach Scott Phelan, has spoken of his fond memories of his role as a ball boy on the day of Moyes' first match at the helm at Goodison Park in 2002.
Phelan, now aged 38, is a former Everton academy player and he said: "The opportunity to be a ball boy was a big thing. I think I was 14, 15 years of age. Just seeing the players close up, with the best seat in the house, was something I'll always remember. The sense of occasion, the atmosphere and [Moyes] starting on a positive footing is what I remember.
"What he is about to achieve is really important in his own career but, for this club as well, he's brought stability in his first and second phase. I have massive respect for him and what he has achieved here.
"He's had an amazing career. Hopefully he can celebrate with a win."
There's no Jack Grealish in the Everton squad, by the way. But then did anyone really expect that?
Coventry City are in If It Ain't Broke mode. They're unchanged following last weekend's 3-1 home win over Sunderland. Bobby Thomas is getting back up to speed after a calf issue but is not risked.
Everton are coming off the back of two victories over Newcastle United. They can't play them every week, but they can near as dammit name the same starting XI, which is what's happened in the wake of Monday night's 1-0 win on Tyneside: Tyler Dibling comes in for Jake O'Brien, who drops to the bench.
Pickford, Rohl, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Armstrong, Garner, Dibling, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Barry.
Subs: Travers, Maitland-Niles, Keane, O'Brien, Johnson, Norgaard, Alcaraz, Hackney, Graham.
Rushworth, van Ewijk, Mfuni, Pinnock, Dasilva, Yirenkyi, Torp, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Gboho, Awoniyi.
Subs: Bentley, Grimes, Simms, Tchaouna, Kesler-Hayden, Latibeaudiere, Thomas-Asante, Hamer, Cherif.
If Everton win this match tonight, they go above Liverpool; if they win it big – five goals big – they leap over Chelsea into fourth spot. Things are going pretty well for David Moyes and his men, who are outperforming expectations that were set miserably low after an underwhelming transfer window. It's one heck of a turnaround.
But then Coventry City will be pretty pleased with their efforts so far too. After a cold start, they've won three of their last five matches, and while nine points and 16th place isn't exactly the most comfortable state of affairs, there's been more than enough promise in performances, so spirits remain high as the Sky Blues embark on their first top-flight campaign for a quarter of a century.
Two clubs heading in the right direction, then; two teams and two support bases happy and hopeful. Everton go into this evening's showdown as favourites, but Coventry have shown plenty of moxie away from home so far, with narrow defeats at Manchester City and Tottenham, plus a win at Nottingham Forest … and they won the last staging of this particular fixture, albeit in the days of Mustapha Hadji and Gary Breen, back on Boxing Day 2000. So they'll be dreaming of three points too. It could be lots of fun. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It's on!