Match report: Ben Fisher is at Villa Park and has all the details. Read on …

“It’s my job,” smiles Thierno Barry when he’s asked by Sky Sports about his goalscoring form. He says he was “attentive” in reacting first when Emi Martínez fumbled Dwight McNeil’s shot for the winning goal. He gives the man of the match award to James Garner and jokes “maybe he’ll give it to me one day”.

Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye will be buoyed by that result as they prepare to take to the field in the Africa Cup of Nations final. Rob Smyth has updates from Senegal v Morocco:

After all that, Arsenal have extended their lead at the top this weekend – from six to seven points. None of the top three won.

90+4 min: Buendía heads wide! Tielemans hits a cross into the box from deep and Buendía, from the edge of the box, glances it wide of Pickford’s far post. That would’ve been some header to score.

90+3 min: Rogers is the next to frustrate the home fans as he pulls down Garner for another free-kick. Textbook stuff from Everton. Villa win it back and launch an attack.

90+2 min: McNeil wins a free-kick 35 yards out for Everton after a bit of head tennis in the Villa half.

90+1 min: Tielemans overruns it and ploughs into Grealish, who wins the free-kick. More time for Everton to run down.

90 min: Four added minutes for Villa to salvage something from this.

89 min: Villa come again. Some nice feet from Rogers sets up Cash to cross but there’s no one at the back post and Patterson heads away. Grealish wins a foul on halfway.

88 min: Beto launches a one-man breakaway. He enters the area and is pressured by Hemmings, who slips and the ball eventually dribbles out for a goal-kick off Barry.

86 min: More groans as Tielemans overhits a ball in behind for a goal-kick that Pickford launches long.

85 min: Groans from the home fans as Watkins skews a pass out for a throw.

84 min: Mykolenko brings down Guessand in the Villa half, which allows David Moyes to make his first change. Beto comes on in place of goalscorer Barry. A straight swap up front. Everton are taking their time with everything now.

82 min: Tielemans finds Digne down the Villa left. His cross is headed on by O’Brien. Rogers helps it back in before Digne attempts an overhead kick that is tame and taken in by Pickford.

80 min: Rogers remains in the thick of it. He prods the ball through an Everton defender’s legs on the edge of the area and goes down wanting a foul. Buendía then turns away from McNeil and hits a left-footed shot into the Everton backline. Martínez comes to sweep up when Barry chases a ball in behind.

78 min: Everton have a free-kick in a crossing position but Garner overhits it out for a goal-kick. Villa made a double change in that flurry of action – Digne and 18-year-old Hemmings on for Maatsen and Bogarde.

76 min: Villa finally break out of their half and McNeil plays a ball into Armstrong’s path in the area. The youngster cuts it back from the byline but Barry is the only Everton player in the box and it’s not near him.

74 min: Cash’s delivery evades everyone and Pickford gathers it in.

73 min: Konsa tries to flash a shot at goal but O’Brien gets in the way. It’s another Villa corner …

72 min: Outstanding save from Pickford! The resulting corner comes out to Rogers, who bends a shot towards the far top corner and Pickford tips it over at full stretch!

71 min: More Villa shouts for handball. Rogers sends a bobbling cross in from the right, Cash might get something on it and it comes off O’Brien, whose arms are by his sides. Patterson knocks the cross out for a corner.

70 min: More chances for Rogers! Maatsen sends two low balls into the area. Rogers sweeps the first towards goal but it’s blocked by Tarkowski. Villa want handball. Rogers is also the target of the second cross and he blazes that over the bar too. Careless again.

67 min: Tielemans clips a ball towards Cash at the back post and it falls nicely for Rogers, who blazes way over the bar. Thomas Tuchel watches on, looking unimpressed at that particular finish.

It’s a sore one for Maatsen as Röhl rakes his studs down his ankle. Nothing given.

65 min: Barry chases a ball down the Everton left and Torres clumsily knocks it out for a throw-in. The striker is serenaded by the travelling fans. How his fortunes have changed recently. He flicks on the long throw but only into Martínez’s hands.

63 min: Maatsen and Watkins combine before Buendía finds himself crowded out in the final third. Tielemans lets fly from distance but, like almost everything before, it’s blocked by Everton.

61 min: Villa try to respond but O’Brien comes across to stop Rogers as he runs in behind. Pickford scrambles across to prevent the corner.

57 min: Garner gets lucky! Villa break at speed and Rogers drives towards the area. Garner, on a booking, plants two hands into his back and pushes him over. No foul given, much to the fury of about 40,000 people.

56 min: Grealish thumps the turf in pain after Bogarde clamps into him. The Villa midfielder is booked. Grealish is OK.

55 min: O’Brien slides a pass in behind the Villa defence but Konsa is quicker than Barry and sends it back to Martínez. Buendía tries the same approach but O’Brien beats Guessand to it.

53 min: A nice turn from Buendía sets Rogers up for a run at the Everton defence but he loses his footing just as he approaches the penalty area and is crowded out. McNeil pinches the ball off Tielemans and Everton can break. Garner finds space about 30 yards out but he spoons his shot high and wide.

51 min: Chance for Villa! Buendía does indeed find Watkins on a Villa breakaway but his shot is blocked at close quarters. Cash then whips an inviting cross into the area and Tielemans heads just wide!

49 min: Let’s see if Villa can get Watkins more involved in the second half. I barely mentioned him in the first. Donyell Malen has just scored on his Roma debut, by the way.

47 min: Garner is given a yellow card for a clumsy foul. Tielemans takes the free-kick short and Rogers is flagged for offside.

The players are back out at a soggy Villa Park.

Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye’s Senegal are in action at 7pm (GMT) in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. Read Jonathan Wilson’s preview as he looks back on the tournament as a whole:

45+2 min: O’Brien wins a free-kick near his own corner flag after receiving some close attention from Rogers.

45 min: Garner pulls the corner back to Mykolenko on the edge of the box but he scuffs the cross and it’s easily cleared. Three minutes added.

44 min: It’s been much better from Villa in the last few minutes but Everton are still finding space in the final third. Grealish cuts in on his right and hits a shot that deflects off Cash out for a corner.

40 min: An unchallenged Grealish is allowed to make inroads into the Villa box and his cutback is cleared away after he got to the byline. O’Brien’s long throw bounces all the way through to Martínez.

38 min: That was sneaky from Rogers. After the corner was given, he went back to the dugout for a drink. Nobody tracked him as he jogged back to the edge of the box, the corner was played straight to him and his shot was dangerous.

36 min: Crucial block! Up the other end, Rogers tries to sweep home from close range and O’Brien sticks out a leg to deflect it out for a corner. Rogers then tries his luck from further out and it’s parried by a diving Pickford.

An offside Armstrong jumps for the ball in front of O’Brien, doesn’t get anything on it, but it’s disallowed nonetheless.

33 min: A lovely spin from Röhl sets Everton away. Armstrong makes a run through the middle but the ball is fed out to Mykolenko, whose powerful strike from the edge of the area is batted over the bar by Martínez for a corner …

31 min: Chance for Villa! Tielemans threads an excellent ball into the path of Guessand in the Everton box but the forward can’t sort his feet out and his scuffed shot bobbles into Pickford’s grasp. A retreating Mykolenko made it difficult but that was a decent opening.

29 min: Everton win it back again after Torres is careless on the ball. Patterson chases a ball to the corner but Maatsen is strong and shields it out of play for a goal-kick without much fuss.

27 min: Tarkowski gifts the ball to Buendía in the Everton half and Villa enjoy a spell on the ball. Everton are, of course, well drilled and don’t yield much space. O’Brien picks up on a loose ball and sets his team on a counterattack. Grealish tries his luck from range but it’s blocked.

25 min: Unai Emery wears a look of worry in the Villa dugout. Everton have started to get joy in attacking areas since McGinn went off injured. Villa have barely threatened in the last 10 minutes or so.

23 min: McNeil goes into the book for pulling Buendía’s shirt after being turned in the Villa half.

22 min: Everton get another corner as Armstrong wins it in the Villa half and Barry’s cross is blocked. McNeil’s delivery finds Grealish at the back post but his volley bounces back off a bunch of bodies at the near post.

20 min: Cash misjudges a header to his goalkeeper at the back post and Everton are gifted a corner. Garner’s deep delivery is aimed at Tarkowski but Villa eventually clear. Patterson’s floated cross from the right is then easily plucked out of the sky by Martínez.

18 min: Villa are happy to keep the ball among themselves as Guessand gets ready. The Ivorian comes on to make his first appearance since returning from Afcon this week. McGinn goes down the tunnel.

16 min: McGinn is up but limping. Guessand is getting stripped on the touchline.

15 min: McGinn is down in the middle of the pitch and receiving treatment. The physios are stretching his right leg out a bit.

14 min: Bit of rough and tumble as Röhl bumps into Konsa and Villa get a free-kick in their own half. Cash then goes in strongly in midfield as the ball changes hands more than once in quick succession. Cheers as Grealish loses out on the left wing.

12 min: Rogers tries to carve out a shooting position but he’s smothered by Everton bodies on the edge of the box. Villa win it back high up and Maatsen’s low shot across goal from distance is easily gathered by Pickford.

10 min: Armstrong is pulled up by the referee for a high foot on Cash, who goes down holding his face. It would’ve been a yellow if he had connected … but he didn’t. Everton fail to play out from the back and Villa come again.

8 min: Villa work the free-kick out wide on the right and Rogers gets the ball of McGinn before heading into the box. He dribbles past one but not another and the ball is cleared before he can pull the trigger.

7 min: McGinn gets involved in a couple of battles with Mykolenko and Garner in midfield. He doesn’t come off worse. Garner is penalised for another foul and Villa may loft the free-kick into the box from deep …

5 min: Big chance for Villa! Torres spots Buendía’s run in behind and the Argentinian lays the ball back on the edge of the box for Rogers, who scoops his shot well over the bar. He would expect to score in his form.

4 min: Villa settle into the game after that early scare. Possession, any possession, will do for now. They take a very long time over a free-kick just inside the Everton half that goes short anyway.

2 min: Fast start for Everton. Grealish gets on the ball in the final third and is greeted by plenty of boos from the home crowd.

Premier League report: Will Unwin was at Molineux this afternoon. Let’s hope this one is a bit livelier. The players are in the tunnel, kick-off is in five minutes.

Harrison Armstrong, 18, will start his third game in a row for Everton since returning from his loan at Preston.

“He’s a fantastic player,” says Ashley Young, who was at Everton until last season, in the Sky Sports studio. “I remember being there and him coming to train with us. He’s playing beyond his years. It took him about a week to be [used to being] in the first team squad – he put his foot in on James Tarkowski straight away.

“He’s got that hunger and desire. He can play as a 10 or an 8. He came up against me in training and every time I beat him I made sure he knew about it.”

High praise, indeed.

Jeremy Boyce writes in: “This should be a good match. Villa are the epitome of ‘quietly going about their business’, winning matches, racking up points and letting others make all the noise and have the focus. Meanwhile, Moyes is back at his spiritual home and has transformed the Toffees from basket cases to solid contenders in his own inimitable style and image. Irresistible force meets immovable object?”

I’m mostly with you Jeremy but I think there would be few Everton fans even who would call them an immovable object. Fairly sturdy object prone to a moment of madness?

Jack Grealish is making his third return to Villa Park since leaving for Manchester City in 2021. He’s yet to score against his old club in five games home or away. Could today be the day?

Grealish record v Aston Villa:
With Manchester City – P4 W3 D0 L1, 0 goals, 0 assists
With Everton – P1 W0 D1 L0, 0 goals, 0 assists

Grealish record this season:
Matches (all comps): 21
Goals: 2
Assists: 6

Steven Pye of That 1980s sports blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network, has offered up his recount of the bonkers 1989 meeting between these two at Villa Park.

“David Platt doing David Platt things, Ian Ormondroyd on the left wing, a thumping own goal, and Villa winning 6-2 live on ITV during their surprise challenge for the title under Graham Taylor,” he summarises.

Everton are still without Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, whose involvement at Afcon has gone right until the end. Both are sure to be involved when their Senegal team take on Morocco in the final later today.

David Moyes says the club will back him in the transfer market this month but isn’t expecting big-money signings after the summer’s outlay.

“All managers are hoping to get bigger [spending] numbers but I think the club has outlined that what we spent in the summer, that was the main part,” he said this week. “It’s not me saying it, the CEO is saying it as well: we don’t expect to be doing too much business.

“But genuinely if I can get a couple of new players in, the club will certainly back me – I have no doubt about that. Absolutely they will, they have been really good. Maybe they can’t back me on a £60m or £70m signing but they will back me on what they think will be the right numbers if we think we can come up with the players required.”

Aston Villa fan Dave Slater is quick out of the traps with a prediction: “I think we’ve relied quite heavily on late goals and Everton at home have been hard to break down. I think it’ll be 2-1 Villa coming from behind.”

On a possible title challenge: “Ask me at Easter. Not sure we have the squad and we don’t score enough goals. But everyone’s dropping points!”

Aston Villa will set a new club record of 12 consecutive home wins if they beat Everton today – their previous record of 11 coming under Tony Barton in 1983.

“We are not feeling something extra, we are feeling we need three points,” said Unai Emery this week. “Maybe we can get some new target for winning our matches in a row, but the priority is to win. If we are winning, we are achieving [the record].

“It’s not the mentality we have. The mentality we have is to focus on each match with the points we have and the competition we’re facing and to get the points we need for our consistency in the top positions in the Premier League.”