The Championship teams who have been waiting the longest to go head to head with Everton

Paul Okey
25 April 2022

With Everton on the brink of relegation, Planet Sport picks out eight sides who have been waiting 20 years or more to welcome them for a league meeting and two that have yet to meet them.

Fans of the Goodison Park club are finally waking up to the reality that Championship football is around the corner.

It's not all doom and gloom, though.

No longer will there be yet another away trip to Arsenal, a long trek to Southampton or the prospect of another derby defeat to their city rivals. Instead, they get eight more games for their money, a genuine prospect of a top-four finish (provided they bomb out Frank Lampard) and the chance to add some much-needed grounds ticks.

Planet Sport have picked out six away grounds Everton fans haven't visited for a long while and four they've never been to as they start planning for second tier football. And there's further good news for Toffees fans, they've got a superior head-to-head record against the eight clubs they have met before.

Preston

Deepdale, Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston PR1 6RU

Capacity: 23,408

With the promotion and play-off pictures still unresolved in the Championship and League One, Preston are one of only two of our ten teams guaranteed to be playing Championship football next term (the other being Coventry).

Everton last played Preston in a league fixture in February 1961, going down to a 1-0 defeat at Deepdale in Division One.

The two sides have met twice in cup competitions since - in 2000 and 2004 - both at Goodison, with Everton winning 2-0 each time.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 38, Preston wins 33, draws 28

Coventry City

Coventry Building Society Arena, Judds Ln, Coventry CV6 6GE

Capacity: 32,609

It is, incredibly, 21 years since these two former top-flight stalwarts met in any competition.

That was a Premier League fixture in January 2001 which Everton won 3-1 thanks to goals from Scot Gemmill, Danny Cadamarteri and Kevin Campbell.

The Sky Blues went on to be relegated at the end of the season, the start of a decline which saw them fall into League Two before fighting their way back up to the Championship.

The meeting would be a new ground tick for the Toffees, with City having left Highfield Road in 2005 to move to the Ricoh Arena, now the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 37, Coventry wins 23, draws 20

Luton

Kenilworth Road, 1 Maple Rd E, Luton LU4 8AW

Capacity: 10,356

Luton and Everton last met in a league fixture in March 1992 when the two clubs drew 1-1 in Division One. The Toffees had won the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road 1-0 the previous November.

Everton have been to Kenilworth Road more recently, however, winning a League Cup tie 1-0 in October 2007. It was the second successive year the clubs had met in the competition, with the Toffees overcoming the Hatters 4-0 at Goodison Park the previous October.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 23, Luton wins 15, draws 9

Millwall

The Den, Zampa Rd, London SE16 3LN

Capacity: 20,146

Everton have never visited Millwall's Den home for a league fixture, with their Division One meeting in March 1990 taking place at the club's old Den ground in Cold Blow Lane when goals from Neil Pointon and Tony Cottee gave Colin Harvey's side a 2-1 win.

They have made three trips to the new stadium, however, the most recent being a 3-2 FA Cup defeat in January 2019.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 6, Millwall wins 5, draws 3

Nottingham Forest

The City Ground, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5FJ

Capacity: 30,445

Forest and Everton have gone head to head 128 times in their history but haven't met in any competition this century.

Their last clash came in the Premier League in January 1999 when Pierre van Hooijdonk's 51st-minute strike settled the game in favour of Forest, then managed by Ron Atkinson.

Everton's last visit to the City Ground came the previous September when a second-half Duncan Ferguson double gave them a 2-0 win.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 55, Nottm Forest wins 47, draws 26

Rotherham

New York Stadium, New York Way, Rotherham S60 1FJ

Capacity: 12,021

Sat in the second promotion spot in League One, Rotherham are firm favourites to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt.

You have to go back all the way to 1953 for the last time Everton visited Rotherham for a league match, with the Toffees picking up a 2-1 win at Millmoor in Division Two - their last season outside the top flight.

Everton went on to complete the double over the Millers thanks to a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture, going on to gain promotion as runners-up.

The two sides have met five times since in the League Cup, with an FA Cup meeting in 2021 which the Toffees won 2-1. However, the Merseyside club have yet to visit Rotherham's New York Stadium home which the Millers moved to in 2012.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 6, Rotherham wins 2, draws 4

MK Dons

Stadium MK, Stadium Way, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK1 1ST

Capacity: 30,500

Just outside the automatic promotion spots in League One, MK Dons are guaranteed at least a play-off spot come the end of the season.

Taking on the mantle of MK Dons in 2004, the club has never met Everton in any competition.

Plymouth

Home Park, Plymouth, PL2 3DQ

Capacity: 18,600

Fifth in League One, a visit from MK Dons on the final day of the campaign means Plymouth's spot in the play-offs is by no means guaranteed.

You have to go back to Everton's 1953/54 Division Two promotion campaign for the last time Plymouth played the Toffees in a league fixture, with contrasting results across the two games.

In October 1953, Plymouth won the home fixture 4-0, with Everton going on to win the return fixture 8-4.

The two sides have since met four times in the FA Cup, the most recent of which was in January 2005 when the Toffees triumphed 3-1 at Home Park.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 8, Plymouth wins 2, draws 1

Wycombe

Adams Park, Hillbottom Road, High Wycombe, HP12 4HJ

Capacity: 10,137

Wycombe's grip on the final League One play-off spot is a precarious one, with Sheffield Wednesday just a point behind having played a game less.

The Chairboys entered the EFL in the 1993/94 season, with a sole season in the Championship coming last season. An immediate return, coupled with Everton's relegation will mean the two sides meeting in a league or cup fixture for the first time in their histories.

Sheffield Wednesday

Hillsborough, 76 Penistone Rd N, Sheffield S6 1SW

Capacity: 39,732

Everton and Sheffield Wednesday have met 152 times, with the first fixture between the two taking place in 1892.

Everton have enjoyed much the better of the head to heads with their last league visit to Hillsborough, in the Premier League in September 1999 resulting in a 2-0 win.

The reverse fixture, in May 2000, ended 1-1, with the Owls dropping out of the top flight at the end of the campaign.

Three cup fixtures have taken place since, with Everton knocking Wednesday out of the FA Cup in 2021 courtesy of a 3-0 win. The previous season the Toffees had ended Wednesday's participation in the League Cup, triumphing 2-0 on their last visit to Hillsborough.

Head-to-head record: Everton wins 69, Sheffield Wednesday wins 41, draws 42