Amadou Onana warned his Aston Villa team about the new manager bounce at Goodison Park – because he’s seen it play out before.
The £50m midfielder, who left the Merseysiders in the summer to join Unai Emery’s men in their debut season in the Champions League, netted the equaliser as Villa sealed their spot in the FA Cup Fourth Round with a 2-1 win over West Ham.
Villa will become new boss David Moyes’ first opponents on Tuesday and Onana believes the Toffees’ squad will want to prove a point.
He said: “We’ve got to be really careful – because I’ve been there myself when, when Sean Dyche came in for his first game.
“I think it was against Arsenal at home. It gives you that extra motivation, extra drive. So we really have to be careful, respect them and, yeah, prepare the game. But I’m sure our gaffer will have a plan – and we’ll follow that.”
Ahead of the first meeting between the two sides, Onana said that he still felt the goosebumps following Everton’s survival cemented their place in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth.
He said: “Goodison Park is special, you know, because that’s the place that gave me the opportunity to showcase my abilities in the Premier League.
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“I was grateful for the opportunity, but yeah, looking forward to it. I enjoy playing at Goodison, I hope this time it will be better for us.
“I respect the fans but I don’t want them to be too happy next week. I might allow that for this week (the week after). I hope it’ll be better for us.”
Moyes inherits an Everton side who are 16th in the Premier League table and just one point clear of the dreaded relegation zone. Villa are faring much better up in eight and could move into European contention with a win if results go their way.
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