/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.footballwhispers.com%2Fmain%2F2026%2F08%2FJohnson.jpg)
Everton will play their second game of the 2026-27 season on Wednesday, when they head to Deepdale to take on Preston North End in an EFL Cup second-round tie.
The Toffees made a winning start to the Premier League season last weekend, while their hosts won in the first round at Goodison Park and have since lost consecutive Championship matches.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Preston North End vs Everton key stats
- Preston North End have conceded first in all three of their matches this season.
- Preston North End lost to Wrexham at this stage of the EFL Cup last season.
- Everton have reached the EFL Cup third round or further every season since 2001-02.
- Everton's victory at the weekend ended seven-match winless run in competitive games.
- The last competitive H2H came in the EFL Cup third round in 2004, with Everton winning 2-0.
Preston North End vs Everton preview: Toffees to make it back-to-back wins to start 2026-27?
Preston North End vs Everton — Tale of the Tape
| Preston North End | vs | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| 20th (Championship) | Position | 4th (Premier League) |
| 0 | Points | 3 |
| 2 | Goals For | 2 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 0 |
| 0 | Clean Sheets | 1 |
| [HOME RANK] | Home / Away Rank | [AWAY RANK] |
Preston North End will aim to lift spirits at Deepdale on Wednesday with an EFL Cup win over top-flight opposition after a tough start to their 2026-27 Championship season.
On the back of a 14th-placed finish last time around, Paul Heckingbottom's team began the new term against Huddersfield Town in the EFL Cup first round at Goodison Park, and they scraped through, winning the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in normal time thanks to Jusef Erabi's injury-time leveller.
They have since kicked off their 12th straight Championship season and suffered a pair of defeats, firstly losing 2-1 away at newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers on the opening day, before hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday and falling to a 3-1 loss with Jordan Thompson's 91st-minute goal nothing more than a consolation.
With cause for concern around their start to the term, having conceded six goals in three matches and only managed a draw and shootout victory, Heckingbottom may opt to make some changes on Wednesday with Brad Potts still sidelined by an injury.
They will now look to take a major scalp at Deepdale to kickstart an improvement on all fronts and book a third-round spot.
Their visitors, meanwhile, begin their EFL Cup journey with the hopes of building on a dream start to the Premier League season.
Everton entered at this stage last season but were only able to advance to the third round before being eliminated by Wolves, in a season in which they finished 13th in the Premier League on 49 points after a seven-game winless run to end the term.
Then following a busy summer with seven pre-season friendlies and the departures of Seamus Coleman, Dwight McNeil and Idrissa Gueye and signings of Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard and Brennan Johnson, they began at home to Crystal Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
David Moyes's men made a winning start in style, cruising to a 2-0 victory as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring on the stroke of half time and Thierno Barry added a second early in the second half.
With confidence to take from that opening result, and meetings with Bournemouth, Manchester United and Tottenham looming in the coming weeks, Everton will aim to make it consecutive wins on Wednesday and seal their third-round qualification in the EFL Cup.
Preston North End vs Everton form guide & betting tips
| Preston North End | vs | Everton |
|---|---|---|
WLL |
Form | W |
| 3 | Goals For | 2 |
| 6 | Goals Against | 0 |
W |
EFL Cup | N/A |
Whispers predicts: Preston North End 0-3 Everton
Preston North End have managed to score once in each of their first three games of the season, but facing a tougher test on Wednesday, we do not see them causing the top-flight visitors much trouble and fancy Everton to win to nil at 13/8 (2.63).
Thierno Barry led the Everton attack and scored in their season-opener, and while Moyes may make some rotations, Barry should continue in attack in a bid to build a run of scoring form after netting eight goals in the Premier League last time around. He is priced at 7/5 (2.40) to score anytime.
Preston North End's previous EFL Cup tie at Goodison Park produced 13 corners, including six for third-tier Huddersfield Town. Everton are bound to put the Lilywhites under more pressure and could force another high corner count. Over 10 corners is priced at 10/11 (1.91).
> Everton win to nil at 13/8 (2.63) | Likelihood: Possible
> Thierno Barry to score anytime at 7/5 (2.40) | Likelihood: Possible
> Over 10 corners at 10/11 (1.91) | Likelihood: Probable