Everton Aim to Extend Unbeaten Start Against Ipswich at Hill Dickinson
Everton’s week at Hill Dickinson Stadium ends the way it began – under lights, with expectation. Wolverhampton Wanderers were edged out in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Now, on Saturday afternoon, newly promoted Ipswich Town arrive to test David Moyes’s unbeaten league start.
The mood around the blue half of Liverpool is quietly upbeat. Not euphoric, not yet, but there’s a sense that something solid is being built. Everton have taken a win and three draws from their opening four Premier League games, and they’ve done it with a spine that looks harder to bend than in recent seasons.
Cup win fuels selection questions
The midweek cup tie did more than just put Everton into the fourth round. It stirred the squad hierarchy.
A tight, tense contest against Wolves was settled by a sharp left-footed finish from Charly Alcaraz, the Argentine midfielder drilling home after a neat exchange with Tyler Dibling. One incisive move, one ruthless strike, and Everton were through.
Later that evening, the draw handed the Toffees a home tie against Newcastle United in the fourth round, to be played in the week commencing 26 October. Another big night is coming to Hill Dickinson. Moyes now knows he has players demanding to be part of it.
Assistant manager Alan Irvine laid down the challenge to Dibling before kick-off against Wolves. “You’ve got your chance; make sure that you perform well, and then you give the manager a big decision to make about whether you're in the team next time,” he told him. Dibling’s answer was emphatic. He picked up the Player of the Match award and set up the winning goal.
Irvine didn’t hide his delight. He said he was “absolutely thrilled” for Alcaraz as well, pointing out how “massively disappointed” the 23-year-old is whenever he’s left out of the starting XI. Now, at least, that frustration has fuel. Moyes has the kind of headache every manager wants – good players in form, banging on the door.
Two promoted sides, one clear target
The fixture list has handed Everton a clear opportunity. Ipswich at home now, Hull City after the international break. Two promoted teams, back-to-back. On paper, Everton’s quality should tell. On the pitch, they still have to prove it.
Several so-called fringe players strengthened their case in the EFL Cup, but this weekend’s Premier League XI may look more familiar. The winger and attacking midfield positions, where Dibling and Alcaraz operate, are arguably the deepest areas of the squad. For all their midweek impact, forcing a way into the league side from the start will not be simple.
What is clear is that Everton’s standards are rising. The unbeaten run is modest in length but meaningful in tone. They’ve become harder to beat. Now they need to become more ruthless.
Ipswich adapt quickly to the top flight
Across the halfway line, Ipswich arrive with a different kind of momentum – the raw, restless energy of a promoted club refusing to be cowed.
Gary O’Neil’s team finished second in the Championship last season and have stepped into the Premier League without flinching. Two wins and two defeats from their opening four games leaves them sitting in midtable, a respectable return given the scale of the challenge.
The schedule has not been kind. Opta’s Power Rankings flagged Ipswich’s start as one of the toughest in the division, yet they’ve already shown they can live with the level. Their last league outing underlined that point. Away at Crystal Palace, the Tractor Boys fought through a wild, swinging game to claim a 3-2 victory, sealed by a 90th-minute winner from Zian Flemming at Selhurst Park.
That kind of late drama does more than earn three points. It injects belief. Ipswich will come to Liverpool with the confidence of a side that has already landed a punch or two in the top division.
Everton team news and likely shape
Moyes used his pre-match press conference to sketch out the fitness picture. Harrison Armstrong is available but not yet fully ready to start. Rohl remains sidelined, with the details of his injury still unclear.
The real intrigue lies in how much of Wednesday’s cup energy spills into Saturday’s league selection. Alcaraz and Dibling have every right to hope for involvement, even if breaking into the starting XI might be a step too far this time. Their performances, though, have narrowed the gap.
At the back, the first-choice partnership is expected to be restored. Jarrad Branthwaite, fresh from an England call-up, should return at centre-back alongside James Tarkowski after both were rested in midweek. Jake O'Brien partnered Michael Keane in the win over Wolves, but this feels like a game for Everton’s senior pairing.
The predicted line-up suggests a familiar 4-3-2-1:
Pickford; Maitland-Niles, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall; Grealish, Barry, George.
It’s a shape built on control in midfield and craft between the lines, with the full-backs asked to provide width and tempo.
Match details and backdrop
Kick-off is set for 3pm BST on Saturday 19 September 2026 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool. Because of the long-standing embargo on broadcasting 3pm Saturday kick-offs in the UK, the game will not be shown live domestically.
Inside the ground, though, the stakes are clear. For Everton, it’s a chance to turn a solid start into something more convincing, to back up cup progress with league authority. For Ipswich, it’s another test of how quickly a promoted side can grow into its Premier League skin.
Two clubs at different stages of their journeys. One trying to re-establish itself as a force in the top half, the other fighting to prove it belongs. By Saturday evening, we’ll know which story has taken the stronger step forward.
