The difference could hardly have been more pronounced.
As Aston Villa brought on Premier League and Serie A winner Ashley Young alongside new £31 million summer signing Leon Bailey – the man who would turn a 0-0 draw into a 3-0 battering in the blink of an eye – Rafa Benitez turned to his bench to see unproven youngsters Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon, the out-of-favour Jonjoe Kenny and a striker without a single first-team appearance in Everton blue.
Despite spending almost half a billion pounds since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s majority shareholder in 2016, this Everton side have about as much depth as a gaggle of beer-swilling teenagers in a Netflix horror reboot.
As such, their team sheet should make interesting reading ahead of tonight’s EFL Cup clash at Queens Park Rangers in west London.
Will Ellis Simms start for Everton vs QPR?
A series of injuries means the likes of Branthwaite, Gordon, Tom Davies and Kenny, a man who was allegedly free to leave Goodison Park just a few weeks ago, could feature from the off against one of the most creative attacking sides outside the Premier League.
But while a lack of options in reserve will strike fear into the heart of many Everton supporters – Saturday’s thumping defeat at Villa Park certainly felt like a reality check after a fine start to the Benitez era – a window of opportunity may at least swing open for one of the most exciting Finch Farm graduates in recent memory.
Despite scoring goals for fun at youth level – and during a superb, promotion-securing loan spell at Blackpool last season – 20-year-old Ellis Simms still awaits his first-team debut for Everton.
That could change tonight, however, much to the delight of many in Gwladys Street.
“I saw some videos of him and I saw him in the training sessions,” Benitez said after handing Simms a place in his squad against Aston Villa three days ago.
“(Simms) is a big lad, and we were working on his movements a little bit. He can score goals and, hopefully, if he can improve his movement, you never know – he’s an option for us.”
Here’s what some Everton supporters on Twitter had to say about team selection for tonight:
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