Everton v Aston Villa live stream, Saturday 22 January, 12.30pm GMT
Duncan Ferguson will take charge of Everton in an interim capacity when Aston Villa visit Goodison Park in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Everton parted ways with Rafael Benitez after last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Norwich, a result which leaves the Toffees just six points clear of the bottom three. Many of the club’s problems predate the appointment of Benitez, but it was hard to envisage the Spaniard ever being a success at Goodison given his strong connections with Everton’s cross-city rivals.
Benitez was not given much money to spend last summer and he has had to deal with significant injury problems in recent months. Even so, the former Liverpool manager did not do a good job and he could hardly complain when he was dismissed following a run of one win in his team’s last 13 Premier League outings.
Aston Villa battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United last Saturday. Steven Gerrard was delighted with the character his team showed against Ralf Rangnick’s side, who were still two goals to the good with 15 minutes left on the clock at Villa Park. Gerrard’s charges are now 13th in the division, although just two points separate them from the top half.
Everton will have to make do without Tom Davies and Allan through injury, while Alex Iwobi is representing Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Fabian Delph and Jarrad Branthwaite are expected to be available, although neither is likely to be included in the starting XI.
Aston Villa will be unable to call upon the services of Marvelous Nakamba, Leon Bailey and Jaden Philogene-Bidace. Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore are at the Cup of Nations, while Ezri Konsa will need to be assessed as he seeks to shake off a hip injury as quickly as possible. John McGinn will be restored to the starting line-up after serving a one-game ban against Manchester United last weekend.
Kick-off is at 12.30pm GMT on Saturday 22 January, and UK viewers can watch live on BT Sport 1 . See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier league football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
