Hello everyone! Another Saturday, another packed Premier League fixture list. There are seven matches in all today, but right here, we will be focusing on the encounter between Swansea City and Everton at the Liberty Stadium.

In the table, both teams are on eight points, but Everton sit just above today's opponents in seventh place due to a slightly better goal difference. The hosts went on an unbeaten run at the start of the season with two victories and two draws, but their progress was halted in the form of a 1-0 defeat to newly-promoted side Watford.

With pressure high on Everton following last season's disappointing 11th-place finish, it was a rather inconsistent start to this campaign as they recorded two draws, a victory and a defeat, but the momentum is arguably with Roberto Martinez's side today as they head into the match on the back of a 3-1 win over Chelsea.

Right, before we delve much further, let's bring you the teams that will be lining up at both ends of the field this afternoon. Starting with the home side...

SWANSEA CITY XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Shelvey, Ayew, Sigurdsson, Montero; Gomis
Subs: Nordfeldt, Rangel, Bartley, Ki Sung-Yueng, Routledge, Barrow, Eder

It's just the one change for Garry Monk's side from last weekend's defeat to Watford as he makes a like-for-like replacement by bringing Jefferson Montero into the fold and dropping Wayne Routledge to the bench. As expected, Lukasz Fabianski starts in goal, with Kyle Naughton, Federico Fernandez, captain Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor lining the back four.

Monk has opted for Jack Cork, Jonjo Shelvey, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Montero in midfield, while Andre Ayew has also kept his place as he aims to add more goals to his already three-goal tally. Bafetimbi Gomis, who has netted four times so far this season, leads the line up front. Now for the visitors...

EVERTON XI: Howard; Galloway, Stones, Jagielka, Browning; Barry, McCarthy; Naismith, Barkley, Kone; Lukaku
Subs: Robles, Gibson, Mirallas, Lennon, Deulofeu, Osman, Funes Mori

The big news from the Everton lineup is that there is no Seamus Coleman as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury. In his place, Tyias Browning has been selected by Roberto Martinez - this is the first Premier League start for the youngster. The only other change from the team that defeated Chelsea is that Steven Naismith has come in for Muhammad Besic. No real surprise there! In fact it would have been quite a shock if the Scotsman was not rewarded with a start following his hat-trick heroics against Chelsea.

As usual, Tim Howard will protect the goal, with captain Phil Jagielka anchoring the defence alongside John Stones. Brendan Galloway and new starter Browning complete the back four, while Gareth Barry and James McCarthy slot into the middle of the park. Ross Barkley is likely to be given a free role to roam from midfield, with Naismith and Arouna Kone providing attacking threat, as well as service to striker Romelu Lukaku.

I think it's clear what Swansea's objective is today!

Right, what can we expect from Swansea this afternoon? Well, they certainly need to bounce back following their defeat to Watford last weekend. At the start of the season, the Welsh side impressed under manager Garry Monk as they managed to secure a 2-2 draw against Chelsea in their opener at Stamford Bridge. There's nothing better than having your attacking stars get off the mark early, and that's exactly what happened for Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis.

The duo continued to show their quality in front of goal as Gomis netted three more times in the following three games, while Ayew scored two more goals, one of which came in Swansea's 2-1 victory over Manchester United on home turf. The form of the Swans' summer signing resulted in him taking home the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August.

With both Gomis and Ayew racking up the goals, it was disappointing for Swansea not to have scored at all during their visit to Vicarage Road last weekend. The Welsh side failed to take advantage of their opponents being stripped to just 10 men when Valon Behram was sent packing in the 64th minute of the clash. Swansea's unbeaten run came to an end, and you feel that they need to get something out of today's match as they face tough opposition in Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the coming weeks. If a run of results do not go their way, they could drop into the lower echelons on the Premier League table.

Despite heading into this game on the back of a defeat, Monk's side can draw on their home form as they have only been beaten once in their last six home games in the Premier League, and that was by two-time champions Manchester City. In addition, the team have not suffered defeat to a side who finished outside of the top seven since March 2014. While Everton will be fighting for a place in Europe this season, their 11th-place finish in the 2014-15 campaign should give the Swans a boost ahead of this afternoon's contest.

In terms of Everton's campaign, they were handed a difficult fixture list, with games against Southampton, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Roberto Martinez's side opened their season with a 2-2 draw against Watford, and from then, managed to gain seven points from a possible 12. Given that the Toffees had a disappointing campaign last season, it was ideal for the team to get off to a good start. As it turned out, it was an inconsistent string of results, but the victory over Chelsea last weekend could be the kickstart to a positive run.

One player who will have plenty of eyes on him this afternoon is Steven Naismith. The Scotsman scored a hat-trick against the English champions last weekend after coming off the bench, but it could have been a very different result had Naismith left Goodison Park in the summer transfer window. Last week, the 28-year-old told reporters that he was close to joining Norwich City until the Canaries had an £8m turned down.

"When you are not playing every week it is hard to look past these opportunities [to leave the club], but it was out of my hands because the manager said he didn't want me to leave," said Naismith. "That was nice in a way but when you're not playing it is hard to take."

Now that Naismith has been given a first-team chance, perhaps the Scotsman can go on a goalscoring run.

Another player who will hope to put on a decent display this afternoon is defender John Stones. The England international was a key figure in Everton's victory over Chelsea last weekend. Ironically, the 21-year-old could have been wearing a different shade of blue as Jose Mourinho pursued the centre-back all summer. The Merseyside outfit held firm and knocked back four bids for Stones, who did not look affected by the transfer saga at all as he put on a mature performance when he took on the Premier League champions last weekend.

During this week's pre-match press conference, Garry Monk had some nice words for Everton and manager Martinez regarding their conduct in the Stones transfer saga.

"Roberto was very clear on the situation and credit to Everton that they've followed through on it," said Monk. "I personally admire that because it's very difficult for clubs like Everton and ourselves, clubs outside that top six, when teams come in for your players.

"It's not just this league, but other leagues as well, that teams can come in and poach a player and wave that cheque in your face.

"Sometimes it's very difficult to stop a player having his head turned in those situations. It is a so-called step up and a different pay packet I would imagine, but that's testament to the club."

It will be interesting to see if Ross Barkley can influence today's game as he has been given more of a free role by Martinez in the last few fixtures. The England international struggled towards the end of last season and his impact seemed to dwindle. The Liverpudlian looks more invigorated in this campaign and has scored two goals from midfield in the last five games.

This week marked the beginning of European action with the Champions League and Europa League group stages getting underway. This time last season, Everton would have begun juggling the demands of the second-tiered European competition and domestic action. As we all know, the Toffees' Premier League results were hampered when the team had to play on Thursdays. This time, Everton have no European commitments, which Martinez believes will be beneficial to them.

"You don't just need to prepare for the Europa League now, you think about it when you are assembling your squad, making the signings and looking at the physical outputs in training," Martinez told the Liverpool Echo.

"It affects everything. We benefited from that experience, and we want to be involved in Europe again, but I think doing it in stages is beneficial."

The statistics are certainly in Everton's favour as in 23 meetings between the clubs, Swansea have grabbed just one victory over the Merseyside outfit in all competitions. Fifteen of those results came in the form of defeats for the Swans, and in the Premier League, the Welsh club have lost three of four matches against Everton at the Liberty Stadium. Goals have also been hard to come by for Swansea as their Merseyside opponents have conceded just four goals in eight top-flight games between the sides. Last season though, Martinez failed to get one over his former club as both home and away fixtures ended in draws.

PREDICTION: As we edge closer to kickoff, it's time that we considered the outcome of this game. Everton are arguably favourites to grab an away win due to their history books being in their favour, but Swansea have the advantage of being on home soil. Aside from the blip against Watford, the Welsh side have had a good start to the season, but they may not have enough to grab all three points this afternoon. We're tipping a 2-2 draw at the Liberty.

Our Sports Mole Sofa panellists Barney Corkhill and Pascal Lemesre have also had their say on this fixture. Hit play below to hear their thoughts:

The teams are lining up in the tunnel at the Liberty Stadium. Jagielka will lead out Everton for his 300th appearance!

Both teams are on the pitch, the obligatory handshakes are done with and we are just minutes away from kickoff.

KICKOFF! Swansea get us underway in all white, while Everton don their traditional blue strip.

Barkley gets some space on the edge of the box, and plays the ball out wide to Barry after spotting his teammate's run. Barry sends the ball into the box, searching for Lukaku, but Swansea are able to clear.

Being the home side, Swansea are expected to take the game to Everton, with the visitors likely to rely on their counter-attacking skills to cause trouble. We'll see if that's what transpires!

Browning, who is making his first Premier League start, gets involved early as he tackles Montero from behind. It's a poor challenge from the youngster as he lost control of the ball, but referee Stuart Attwell has opted to give the defender a warning.

Montero gets the better of Browning as he is able to deliver a cross into the box, but Jagielka manages to get a header on it. The ball is bounced back into the area and both Jagielka and Ayew go for it, but end up clashing heads.

Play has stopped for the moment as both Jagielka and Ayew receive treatment following their collision. The Everton captain gets back on his feet, and his opponent eventually joins him as he gets patched up with blood pouring from his face. It looks as though he will be okay to continue though.

Play is back underway and Everton have had most of the possession and seem happy to knock it back and forth across the defence and midfield. At the moment, Swansea are allowing the Toffees time on the ball.

McCarthy swings the ball into the box, looking for Kone, but his attempt just bounces behind the forward and Swansea get a throw-in.

The ball is sent long towards Lukaku, who manages to bring in down on the left side of the final third, but his marker manages to nick the ball and give Swansea possession. There's not been many chances as yet, but both sides look relatively comfortable on the ball when they have it.

Lukaku loses the ball in the middle of the park, which gives Gomis a chance to run at goal, but McCarthy does well to win the ball back. Naismith surges towards the box and sends it across to Kone, but he is unable to get a shot on. After a few passes outside of the area, Williams gives away a free kick in a dangerous area after necessarily bringing down Naismith.

Lukaku takes the free kick and while the ball over the wall with good accuracy, but Williams makes a brave header to knock it out for a corner, which comes to nothing.

Williams is called on again to make a crucial clearance as Barkley fizzes the ball in front of goal. The Wales defender looks to have overstretched to knock the ball out, but he manages to pick himself up and continue. Barkley sends in the corner to find the head of Jagielka, who gets power on the ball, but his header is just over the crossbar.

SAVE! At the other end, Naughton finds space on the right (too much space in fairness!). He cross the ball into the box, which Gomis picks up and launches a shot at goal, but Howard is able to dive down to his right and make the stop.

MISS! What a chance for Gomis! A mistake from Barry as he knocks the ball back, but his pass goes into no-mans land. Gomes latches onto the bouncing ball and unleashes a shot while one-on-one with the keeper, but he drags it left. He should have done much better.

Swansea have gone up a gear at the Liberty. Ayew wins a corner for his side, which Shelvey takes. It's hooked in towards Fernandez, who headers towards Cork at the far post, but Howard does just enough to clear the danger.

At the other end, Everton go on the break with Naismith, who skips into the box, but he takes too many touches before unleashing a shot, and Taylor manages to block his path and cut out Naismith's chance.

Shelvey drives the ball forward into the path of Gomis. Jagielka is under pressure to clear, but he manages to regain composure and knock it back towards his goalkeeper. Everton look a bit rattled here.

Swansea fans are unhappy as the referee blows up after Stones goes down and opts against playing the advantage. The Everton defender launches towards the ball and Cork ends up catching his opponent in the process. After Stones goes to ground, the referee blows his whistle for an injury, but the Englishman is fine to continue.

Montero surges down the left and gets past McCarthy, but Stones is there to close down his opponent and force the Swansea man to knock the ball out for a goal kick. Swansea seem to have the better of the visitors at the moment, but they need to take advantage of that.

CHANCE! Everton get a free kick just outside of the corner of the box. Barkley sends it in, but it's eventually headed out. The ball drifts out to Naismith, who hits a clean low strike, but it slams right into Fabianski.

Sigurdsson drives the ball towards Gomis, who times his run well, but Stones makes a brilliant interception to halt the striker's progress. The England international looks to be continuing his strong form at the back.

Everton have had more time on the ball in the last few minutes and shown some slick passing, but their final touch in the box has let them down so far. We've had just one clear shot at goal from the visitors.

We're reaching the final 10 minutes of the half and the game's gone rather scrappy. There's been plenty of wayward passes from both sides. Kone tries to make something happen - he has Barkley to his right and Naismith to his left, but he goes for goal himself and it's a poor effort as it skyrockets into the stands.

Barkley snatches the ball as Cork is caught napping. He drives forward and knocks the ball out right to Lukaku, who gets closed down by Williams and his shot ends up grazing the defender before flying over the crossbar. The visitors get a corner, but the fail to take advantage.

It's a frustrating spell for Swansea as they have struggled to get out of their own half in the last few minutes. Montero's sloppy pass allows Everton back on the ball. Lukaku tries to dance past Fernandez, but the defender gets a foot in and wins the ball back for the home side.

Shelvey sends a diagonal ball across to Montero, who has Browning to get past, but the young defender does well to put his opponent under pressure and hit the ball out for a throw-in.

Shelvey tries to get things going for Swansea as he moves into the corner of the box and passes the ball out right towards Naughton, but his effort is heavy and dribbles behind the line before it can get anywhere near his teammate.

At the other end, Kone gets tripped by Cork, who should be cautioned for that challenge, but the referee plays the advantage with Barkley on the ball, but his attack gets snuffed out.

Swansea lose the ball again as Galloway sends the ball forward to Lukaku, who knocks it left to Barkley. The midfielder passes to Barry, who is waiting on the edge of the area, but as he sends the ball into the box, Fabianski is able to snatch the ball from the air.

BOOKING! As expected, the referee has cautioned Cork for his tackle on Kone.

Swansea have a great chance to strike before the half-time whistle as Naismith brings down Ayew on the edge of the penalty area. Shelvey whips a deep ball into the box, but it fails to trouble the visitors and gets headed clear.

It's not been a game of flowing football so far, but there has been some brilliant defending from both sides, particularly from Jagielka and Williams. Stones has also looked as composed as usual at the back for Everton.

If you're a fan of fast, flowing passing then this half has not been one for you! Ironically, both Swanse and Everton pride themselves on their attacking play, but the defences have certainly been on top as they reach the half-time interval goalless. Gomis and Lukaku are leading the lines for the Swans and Toffees respectively, but neither have had many opportunities to trouble the goalkeepers.

For the home side, they had around 15 minutes of dominant play at the Liberty Stadium, but they were unable to take advantage. The best chance of the encounter from a Swansea point of view was when Gomis was one-on-one with keeper Howard, but he dragged his shot left and missed the target.

Everton have had the majority of possession so far and did well to keep Swansea in their own half towards the end of the first half, but they too have had few serious chances to come by. The best opportunity for the visitors was when Naismith, who scored a hat-trick against Chelsea last weekend, unleashed a clean low drive towards goal, but he sends it straight into Fabianski.

As mentioned, the defences have certainly been on top in this half. Reliable tends to be the word to describe Everton captain Jagielka and Swansea skipper Williams, and neither have disappointed as they have read the game well and put in perfectly-timed tackles to frustrate their opponents. Stones, who partners Jagielka, also looks strong as he continues his decent form this season.

Now, let's have a look at today's other games in the Premier League. Earlier today, Chelsea executed a 2-0 victory over nine-man Arsenal, while tonight, Manchester City will host West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium.

Now though, including the clash at the Liberty, there are five games in action. Below are the half-time scores from the other four fixtures.

Aston Villa 0-1 West Brom
Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
Newcastle 0-2 Watford
Stoke City 2-0 Leicester City

KICKOFF! Visiting Everton get the second half underway. Fingers crossed for goals!

Some decent footwork from Shelvey as he manages to keep the ball from two Everton players and sends it out wide. Montero eventually receives the ball and delivers it into the box towards Ayew and Gomis, who are waiting in the area, but neither can force through a dangerous header.

CHANCE! Barkley skips past Ayew and cuts the ball back to Kone after driving to the byline, but the striker couldn't sort out his feet quickly enough and the ball goes through his legs. What a missed opportunity that was! Just one touch would have surely seen the ball over the line.

CHANCE! Everton have started this half strongly as Barkley is involved again. He knocks it to Galloway in the box and makes a dummy run for the full-back, who drives a low shot to the far post, but the ball drags just wide.

At the other end, Gomis makes a decent run and collects an inch-perfect pass into the box, but Stones defends brilliantly by timing his tackle perfectly and preventing the Swansea forward from getting a shot at goal.

MISS! Everton are searching for the breakthrough, and they should be 1-0 up at this stage. Barry sends a through-ball to Lukaku, who has just Fabianski in his way, but instead of trying to send his shot across the keeper, he tries to curl it around him and the ball flies into the stands.

Stones has been driving forward well in this game to set up an attack, but he finds himself in trouble as Shelvey tackles and wins the ball. Thankfully for Stones, his teammates drop back to cover.

BOOKING! Barry gets cautioned by the referee for unnecessarily bringing down Naughton just on the line of the penalty box.

Sigurdsson takes the free kick and manages to curl the ball around the wall and towards the near post, but it clatters into the side netting.

OFF THE LINE! Williams saves his team from going a goal down when Lukaku tries to hook the ball over Fabianski. The striker doesn't get too much power on it though, so Williams has time to drop back and clear the danger.

SWANSEA SUB: Swansea make the first change of the match as Ki comes to replace Sigurdsson following the midfielder's failed free-kick attempt.

SAVE! Montero gets away from Browning by cutting the ball back on the box and he goes for goal by trying to whip it round the keeper, but Howard is there to get a hand on it and tip it over the bar.

Well, this has been very different from the first half - we're actually getting some goalmouth action! In all honesty, Everton should be in front, but Lukaku failed to take his best effort. As the game goes on like this, it could go either way.

EVERTON SUB: Everton make a substitution as Kone, who has had a quiet game this afternoon, is replace by Deulofeu.

Jagielka is called on again as the ball is sent in towards Ki. The Everton skipper manages to get a head to it first and clear the danger.

SAVE! Gomis tries to catch out Howard by launching a quick strike on the turn from just outside of the box, but the Everton goalkeeper is able to knock the ball back into the field of play.

CHANCE! Everton are on the attack here as Deulofeu has increased the tempo after coming on. Williams is needed again to make some vital clearances. McCarthy sends a low cross into the box. Fernandez defends, but the ball falls into the path of Galloway, whose shot is heading fro the top corner, but Williams gets a touch.

BOOKING! Everton youngster Browning goes into the book for bringing down Montero from behind.

CHANCE! Another chance for Everton as Barkley drives from the middle of the park to the outside of the box. The Liverpudlian sends the ball low into the path of Lukaku, who can only hit the ball into Fabianski's path.

Everton have shown more attacking intent in this second half, largely because of the introduction of Deulofeu, but Swansea have grown into it as the game has gone on. It's the same old story though, as neither side have been able to take their chances as yet.

BOOKING! Ayew, who has had a frustrating afternoon, gets a yellow card from the referee after a diving tackle on Galloway.

SWANSEA SUB: The home side make a like-for-like change as Gomis makes way for Eder.

Naismith sends the ball out wide left to Galloway, who waits for the Scotsman to make the overlap, but it gets cut out by the home side. The ball is then sent long towards Eder, who has Stones in front of him, but it's comfortable for the Everton defender as he holds off his opponent and retains possession for the visitors.

A long ball finds Lukaku, who moves towards the corner of the box and plays the ball back to Barkley. The midfielder struggles to get a shot at goal as two Swansea men charge him down. He manages to feed the ball across to Naismith, who gets brought down, and Martinez cries for a penalty but it's not given, and rightfully so.

SWANSESA SUB: The home side make their final change of the game as Ayew is withdrawn and replaced by Barrow.

Stones has been excellent in this second half. Any time that he is isolated at the back, the 21-year-old is able to show composure and strength to clear the danger. More signs that Everton did very well to keep him.

Montero drives down the left in these final stages of the game, but Deulofeu, who is not known for his defending, is able to get the ball off his opponent before he can deliver a cross into the box.

CHANCE! So close for Swansea! Substitute Barrow whips in a cross from the right-hand side and Eder attacks as the ball bounces towards the near post, but Galloway is able to get a touch to clear.

EVERTON SUB: As the fourth official signals three minutes of stoppage time, Everton make their second substitution as Barkley makes way for Mirallas.

OFF! Dear oh dear, Mirallas has been on for just under two minutes and he has been shown a red card! The Belgian tussles with Barrow and rolls the top of the ball before catching his opponent's ankle. The stamp is poor from Mirallas, but whether there was intent remains to be seen.

So, there we have it, Swansea's unbeaten home run remains intact and Everton are yet to concede an away goal as the sides play out a goalless draw. The main talking point came in stoppage time when Kevin Mirallas was sent off just two minutes after coming on as a substitute! It was a straight red for the Belgian, whose side missed numerous chances in the second half to nick all three points. In the end, despite being the home side, Swansea will probably be relieved to have taken something from this game. Well, thank you for joining Sports Mole this afternoon, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. Until next time, goodbye!