- ... at last - some goals and a win!

- a defeat against Sunderland would have been our 5th loss in succession
- that hasn't happened since a run of 6 straight defeats in August/September 2005

- and if we had failed to score against them, it would have taken our run of scoreless games to 5
- that would have been our worst since a run of 6 successive matches without a goal in Dec 1993/Jan 1994
- Caretaker Manager Jimmy Gabriel was in charge that time round

- if Sunderland had won and we had failed to score a goal ...
- ... it would have been the 5th game in a row that we'd have been defeated without scoring
- and that's never happened to us before, ever!

- thank goodness it still hasn't!

- we'd met Sunderland twice before in the League Cup, both at Goodison
- and they'd knocked us out both times!

- the first one was a 3-2 win for them in October 1967 (after we'd led 2-0!)

- and the most recent one before Thursday was back in November 1998
- we ended extra-time level at 1-1 before we lost a penalty shoot-out 5-4
- Ibrahima Bakayoko saw the decisive penalty saved by Thomas Sorensen
- that was after having to be reminded to remove his track-suit top to take the kick!

- the starting line-ups were interesting, weren't they?!

- the Everton 11 had a total of 233 previous appearances for us
- amazingly, the Sunderland starting line-up had a total of 238 appearances for us!!
- Jack Rodwell (109), Darron Gibson (69) and James Vaughan (60) were the ex-Everton men in question!

- remarkable!

- the attendance against Sunderland was 23,593
- that's the lowest crowd at Goodison for a match against the Mackems since 1991
- that time round just 23,124 watched us win a Division 1 clash 2-0

- we had quite a number of players making their Everton League Cup debuts in the Sunderland game
- deep breath ... Calvert-Lewin, Davies, Keane, Kenny, Klaassen, Lookman, Niasse, Ramirez and Vlasic

- that took us to over 300 players who've turned out for us in our League Cup history (308 to be exact!)
- courtesy of alphabetical order, Dominic Calvert-Lewin became the 300th!

- check out the 'Everton Players Numbered Chronologically' section for more details!

- Jonjoe Kenny made his first ever start for the club against the Black Cats!
- we've now had 878 different starters in our competitive history!

- and welcome back Oumar Niasse!!
- the forgotten man scored his first goal for the club in the match
- that's 517 different scorers in our history (not including own goals)

- also, DCL's goals were his first for us in the League Cup and we have now had 119 scorers in that competition

- and the reward for beating Sunderland?
- a trip to Chelsea in the 4th Round!
- d'oh!

- our League Cup record against Chelsea, home & away, is W0 D2 L6
- at their place it is W0 D1 L3

- in all competitions, our record in our last 27 trips to Chelsea is a dreadful W0 D11 L16
- we did win 1 of the drawn games on penalties, though - the February 2011 FA Cup 4th Round Replay!

- our last '90 minutes' win at the Bridge was way back in November 1994, courtesy of a Paul Rideout goal!

- it's our longest current run without an away victory at a single opponent!
  (Arsenal are next - 23 trips without a win!)

- and so on to Bournemouth at home on September 23rd!

- it will be the 2nd of 4 successive home games for us
- and that's not actually that rare - it last happened in December 2015/January 2016!

- we've never played Bournemouth on Sep 23 before - and we lost on our last outing on that date
- that was a 3-0 defeat in the League Cup at Swansea in 2014

- that was one of 3 successive away games on September 23rd - 2 defeats and 1 win
- the win was a 4-0 victory at Hull, also in the League Cup, in 2009

- our last home game on September 23 was way back in 1998
- we beat Huddersfield 2-1 in a League Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg match, to win the tie 3-2 on aggregate

- it was an eventful game!
- Marcus Stewart put the Terriers ahead after just 44 seconds
- Olivier Dacourt equalised, Marco Materazzi scored our 2nd goal and was then later sent off!

- in all we have played 22 games in the past on September 23rd - and we've drawn 0 of them! W10 D0 L12
- on no other day in the yearly calendar have we played so many games without a draw!

- we've played Bournemouth just 8 times in the past and lost just once: W6 D1 L1

- at Goodison we've won on all 4 of their previous visits, scoring 16 goals!

- our last meeting was the memorable 6-3 home win last February
- Romelu Lukaku scored 4 times, the first after just 30 seconds!
- and Ross Barkley started celebrating before his - and our 6th - goal had hit the back of the net!

.- our 3 previous Premier League meetings with the Cherries, home and away, have produced 19 goals
- 11 for us and 8 for them!

- another goal for us this time round would be our 750th at home in the Premier League!

- if we don't score, however, it will be 4 successive League matches without a goal, home and away
- that hasn't happened since April 2006

- and if lose and fail to score it will also be 4th consecutive League game in which that has happened
- the last time it occurred was in a run of 6 League defeats for us without a goal from August-October 2005

- if we do win, however, it will be the 1,500th home win in our competitive history!
- in all of our home games so far our record is P2665 - W1499 D623 L543 - F5276 A2885

- if he starts against Bournemouth it will be Phil Jagielka's 337th start for us in all competitions
- he'd be in 24th place alone, 1 ahead of 1900s half-back Harry Makepeace, on our All-Time Starts list

- if Kevin Mirallas makes a substitute appearance it will be his 47th for us in the League
- that would put him in joint 7tth place with Stuart Barlow, on our All-Time League Sub Apps chart!

- a defeat against the Cherries would be our 4th in a row, home and away, in the League
- the last time that happened was in December 2014/January 2015

- and if we fail to score it would also be for the 4th League game in a row
- we last managed that in April 2006, although 2 of those matches were 0-0 draws

- if we both lose and fail to score, that will also be 4 League games on the run that it's happened
- the last time we 'achieved' that was in October 2005, part of a 6-game League run of goalless defeats!

- we lost our last home game played on a Saturday - 3-0 to Tottenham 2 weeks ago
- before that, however, we'd won 6 on the run at home on a Saturday in all competitions

- in the Premier League, our record in the last 13 home Saturday games is an impressive W9 D3 L1

- the first goal will be vital!
- our record at Goodison in the last 23 League games when we've conceded first is W2 D6 L15
- in the last 17 when we've scored first it is W14 D3 L0, including wins in all of the last 11!

- Martin Atkinson will referee the game
- at Goodison we've won 0 of his last 4 appointments - W0 D3 L1

- he's awarded 5 penalties before at Goodison, 2 to us and 3 to our opponents

- but there has only ever been 1 penalty awarded in our previous meetings with Bournemouth!
- Joel Robles saved Charlie Daniels effort in our 2-0 FA Cup 5th Round win at their place in February 2016

- if we score a pen against them this time it'll be the 300th we've scored at home in our competitive history!

- if they miss one, however, it will be the 50th missed by the opposition at Everton in all competitive matches!

- i f Leighton Baines nets a penalty against Bournemouth it will be his 24th spot-kick success for us
- he'd then move out on his own at the top of our 'Most Penalties Scored' chart
- he's currently level on 23 (from 26 taken) with David Unsworth (also from 26) and Trevor Steven (from 29)

- there's never been anyone sent-off in our previous meetings with the Cherries!
- if a Bournemouth player is red-carded in this game we'll reach a milestone
- he'll be the 100th opponent to be dismissed in all of Everton's home games ever!

- COYB!!

- a reminder of some new sections on the site!

- Test cricketers have a small number on their shirt or cap
- it shows where they fit in in terms of the historical chronology of their country
- now you can see what number every Everton player would wear!
- have a look at the 'Everton Players Numbered Chronologically' section!

- who's managed the most times against Everton?
- who's managed the most clubs against us?!
- well, there's a new 'Opposition Managers' section that will tell you everything you need to know!

- the 'Goals in Most Consecutive Matches' section has been updated!
- it now includes details of which Everton players have scored in the most successive home & away games too!

- who was the last Everton man to play 50 or more games in a season?
- who has played the most games in one season?!
- the new '50 or More Appearances in a Season' section will tell you!

- on the flip side, which players only ever managed 1 game for the club?!
- find out in the new Just One Appearance section!

- we used 27 different players last season in all competitions and 19 of them scored a goal
- is that a lot?! how does it compare to other seasons?
- find out in the new 'Number of Players Used and Goal Scorers - Season-by-Season' section!

- who was the last Everton player to feature in every game in a season?!
- have a look at the new Ever Presents section to find out!

- and how often have we completed League 'doubles' over our opponents in the past?
- alternatively, how often have we been on the receiving end of a double?!
- you can now find out in the new League Doubles For and Against section

- ever wondered which Everton player has been substituted the most times?!
- well, now you can find out - have a look at the new Subbed Off section for full, fascinating details!

- Ademola Lookman scored on his Everton debut last season
- who else has managed that feat for the club?!
- have a look at the new Scored on Their Debut section to find out!

- with Wayne Rooney having returned to Everton action, who else has had 2 separate spells at the club?!
- the new Two or More Spells at Everton section will tell you!

- new boy Jordan Pickford looks like he'll be our keeper for some years to come
- but who else has appeared for us between the sticks in the past?!
- the new Goalkeepers section has all the details!

- and don't forget there's also a new History In Short section too!
- you can see at a glance how many times we've finished in each position in the League
- and where exactly we've been knocked out of the various cup competitions
- have a peek!