Everton’s second home game in four days carries a very different kind of tension.
On Wednesday night, David Moyes’s side did the efficient, professional job required in the Carabao Cup, edging Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 thanks to a sharp left-footed finish from Charly Alcaraz after a slick exchange with Tyler Dibling. It was the kind of move that hinted at depth, at options, at a squad starting to stretch its legs.
By the end of the evening, the reward for that work was clear: a home tie against Newcastle United in the fourth round, scheduled for the week commencing 26 October. A serious test, but also a serious opportunity.
First, though, comes a very modern Premier League examination: a newly promoted side with energy, belief and no intention of behaving like guests.
Unbeaten Everton, unafraid Ipswich
Everton enter the weekend still unbeaten in the league: one win, three draws, a platform rather than a finished product. It’s steady, not spectacular, but for a club that has known turbulence, an early-season run without defeat carries its own quiet power.
Two promoted clubs stand in their way either side of the international break. Ipswich Town on Saturday, Hull City afterwards. On paper, Everton’s quality should tell. On grass, against sides riding the momentum of promotion and playing with the freedom of underdogs, nothing is handed over.
The midweek win over Wolves strengthened the sense that Moyes has genuine choices. Fringe players didn’t just fill shirts; they changed the game. They forced the conversation.
No one did that more than Dibling.
Dibling’s response and Alcaraz’s reminder
Before kickoff on Wednesday, Assistant Manager Alan Irvine laid down a clear challenge to the young winger.
“You’ve got your chance; make sure that you perform well, and then you give the manager a big decision to make about whether you're in the team next time,” he revealed afterwards.
Dibling took that message and ran with it. He picked up the Player of the Match award and laid on the decisive assist for Alcaraz, a direct answer to his coach’s words and a timely nudge to Moyes as he weighs his options for Ipswich.
Irvine didn’t hide his delight at the scorer either. He said he was “absolutely thrilled” for Alcaraz, and pointed out that the Argentine is “massively disappointed” whenever he’s not in the starting XI. At 23, hungry and now delivering in the cup, Alcaraz has given his manager exactly what every coach secretly craves: a selection headache.
The question now is how bold Moyes wants to be with that headache when league points are on the line.
Ipswich punching their weight
If Everton have been solid, Ipswich have been something else: stubborn, spirited, and ahead of schedule.
Promoted last season after finishing second, Gary O’Neil’s team were handed one of the toughest opening runs in the division according to Opta’s Power Rankings. The fixture list didn’t smile; it snarled. Yet Ipswich sit in midtable with two wins and two defeats, very much alive and unawed.
Their last league outing told you plenty about their character. Away at Crystal Palace, under pressure and pushed deep, the Suffolk club still found a way to win 3-2, snatching all three points with a 90th-minute strike from Zian Flemming at Selhurst Park. That kind of ending doesn’t just add to the points column; it fuels belief.
This is not a side coming to Hill Dickinson Stadium to soak up pressure and hope. They’ve already shown they can trade punches.
Team news and selection dilemmas
Moyes confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Harrison Armstrong is available but not yet fully ready to start. Rohl remains sidelined, with the details of his injury still unclear.
So the intrigue shifts to those who impressed in the EFL Cup. Alcaraz and Dibling both have a case to feature, but breaking into this Everton XI is no simple task. The wide and midfield roles are arguably where the squad is strongest, with established names already staking their claims.
At the back, stability should return. Jarrad Branthwaite, fresh from an England call-up, is expected to slot back in alongside James Tarkowski at centre-half after the pair were rested in midweek. Jake O’Brien and Michael Keane did the job against Wolves, but the first-choice partnership looks set to be restored for league duty.
The predicted Everton lineup in a 4-3-2-1 reads: Pickford; Maitland-Niles, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall; Grealish, Barry, George.
If that holds, Dibling and Alcaraz may have to settle for roles off the bench, waiting for the moment when the game breaks open and fresh legs, and fresh ideas, can tilt it.
The stage and the stakes
Kick-off is set for 3pm BST on Saturday 19 September 2026 at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. Because of the blackout on Saturday 3pm kick-offs, there will be no live television broadcast in the UK.
So this one will unfold in the old way: on the radio, on live text, in forums, and in the noise from the stands.
For Everton, it’s a chance to turn a solid start into something more convincing, to show that unbeaten doesn’t have to mean cautious. For Ipswich, it’s another opportunity to prove they belong, to turn early-season resilience into a sustained Premier League story.
Everton have the names, the experience, the home crowd. Ipswich have momentum, belief, and a growing taste for late drama.
Whose narrative hardens into reality as autumn closes in?
