Match preview: Everton U21 vs Villarreal U21

Everton’s youngsters will have to shake off fatigue they gained in Monday’s 3-1 win over Southampton under-21s, as they take to the Goodison Park turf to face Villarreal this evening.

David Unsworth’s side will be playing the ‘Yellow Submarine’ in the group stages of the Premier League International Cup, having played out a 1-1 draw with Celtic in their first game of the competition.

And the Spanish side are no strangers to Evertonians, as their senior teams met in the 2005 Champions League qualifying rounds.

Villarreal won the first leg at Everton 2-1, but Everton were denied a reprieve at El Madrigal, as Duncan Ferguson had a late goal controversially disallowed for reasons still unknown.

The young Blues currently sit in second place on goal difference ahead of both Sunderland and Villarreal, having played a game fewer.

Celtic, who have played all of their opponents in Group D, top the group having already qualified for the quarter-finals with seven points from three games.

A win for Unsworth’s men this evening would provide a big boost to their qualification hopes.

The game coincides with the first team’s trip to Chelsea, and the under-21s will be kicking off for the second half as the seniors get their game underway.

We will be bringing you coverage of the first half of tonight’s game via our Twitter account, @RBMersey, before switching to our under-21s reporter @RealTomWoods at half time.

A full match report will shortly follow the final whistle here at Royal Blue Mersey.