Wanderers return home for the first time since their Wembley heroics on a big day for the team – and the boss, writes Pete Oliver.
Steven Schumacher leads the Whites against former club Everton in the first of two pre-season friendlies Wanderers will play at the Toughsheet Community Stadium ahead of their Championship return.
Dutch side NAC Breda will bring some continental flair when they visit on Saturday-week, but first Wanderers must test themselves against Premier League opposition in their highest profile warm-up fixture.
Everton will provide fitting opposition in a first home outing since the Whites won the League One play-off final in May and will also make it a special day for Schumacher, a boyhood Everton fan who started his playing days at Goodison Park and also launched his coaching career back with the Toffees in their academy set-up.
“I played under David Moyes when I was starting out so we go back a long way and I’m really looking forward to welcoming him to our stadium,” said the Whites’ Head Coach. “He is an outstanding manager who has achieved so much in the game and someone young coaches like myself can really look up to.
“While results aren’t critical at this stage we want to put in a good performance against his team if we can. We know we're going up against Premier League players, who have been back in pre-season training for a similar amount of time as ourselves.
“They may be missing a couple of big names but not too many of their squad went away in the World Cup, so I think they’ll be very strong and also wanting to put on a good performance. That should make it a really good game and one I am really looking forward to for so many reasons.”
Everton are set be without record-breaking England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford – who set a new World Cup appearance record for an England goalkeeper during the recent tournament – Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye and Scotland’s Nathan Patterson following their appearances in the Finals.
But Moyes – in charge for a second spell at Everton after a memorable decade at the helm earlier in his career – will still have a strong hand to pick from for his side’s second pre-season friendly.
The Merseysiders started off with a 4-0 win at Dundee last weekend to round off a training trip to Scotland, when senior men Beto, Thierno Barry and Dwight McNeil were all on the scoresheet.
Former Freiburg midfielder Merlin Röhl and ex-Chelsea winger Tyrique George both started at Dens Park after converting loan spells into permanent moves this summer, while Saturday’s trip to Wanderers may see a first outing for new Toffees’ recruit Hayden Hackney following his arrival from Middlesbrough as Moyes’ men build up to their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace in under a month’s time.
Wanderers will have new faces of their own on show as they look to build on their 3-1 mid-week win at Oldham, with just three more scheduled friendlies to go ahead of a Carabao Cup opener at Sheffield Wednesday and then the big kick-off in the Championship at home to Preston on Saturday, 15th August.
Tickets for Saturday’s game against Everton (KO 3pm) are available to buy HERE, priced £12 for adults, £7 Over-65s and £5 for Under-18s.