Everton will face Brentford in the third round of the Carling Cup.

The tie will take place at Griffin Park in the week commencing 20th September 2010 with extra time and a penalty shootout if necessary.

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE CARLING CUP DRAW? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW

Draw for the third round of the Carling Cup:

Brentford v Everton
Portsmouth v Leicester City
Stoke City v Fulham
Chelsea v Newcastle United
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
Millwall v Ipswich Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Notts County
Burnley v Bolton Wanderers
Birmingham City v MK Dons
Liverpool v Northampton Town
Scunthorpe United v Manchester United
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester City
Sunderland v West Ham United
Peterborough United v Swansea City
Wigan Athletic v Preston North End

BBC Football pundit Mark Lawrenson has predicted that Everton will lose at Aston Villa on Sunday.

He told BBC Sport Online: “This will be the last game for more than two weeks for Villa because after the international break they don’t play until the Monday. So it’s make or break for caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald. It’s strange because his first two games resulted in a comfortable win against West Ham and a decent performance with a shadow team in Vienna, but then they were completely taken apart by Newcastle and Andy Carroll.

“They’re playing an Everton team that have stuttered so far but they always give you a thorough examination. Home advantage could prove telling but it’s a really close call. You wouldn’t be too surprised if Villa won and likewise if Everton took all three points. I think the Villa players may be aware that it might be MacDonald’s last chance to secure the job on a permanent basis and that may prove the difference.

“Prediction: 2-1.”

Jack Rodwell and Seamus Coleman are among the starting line-up for Everton’s Carling Cup tie against Huddersfield.

Everton: Mucha, Coleman, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Pienaar, Rodwell, Fellaini, Osman, Gueye, Beckford

Subs: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Bilyaletdinov, Saha, Arteta, Cahill

Huddersfield: Smithies, Peltier, McCombe, Peter Clarke, Naysmith, Croft, Gudjonsson, Johnson, Roberts, Arfield, Robinson

Subs: Bennett, Kay, Garner, Rhodes, Novak, Goodwin, Carey

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

Everton boss David Moyes has dismissed any link with managerless Aston Villa.

It’s always reassuring to hear the boss distance himself from the speculation and continue to pledge his future to the club.

No Everton fan would question the fine work which Moyes has done at Goodison Park since he took over, and with him remaining at the helm the future can only be good - all he needs is some financial backing!

He told talkSPORT: “I am loyal to Everton, I’ve always said that.

“It is a really good club and this year we have a really good team and we have a good chance of doing well.”

Jack Rodwell has insisted he “always knew” he was going to sign a new deal with Everton.

The highly-rated midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United before he penned a new five-year deal in May.

He told the Liverpool Echo: “When these questions were getting asked (about my future) I always knew I was going to sign a new contract.

“I didn’t have a doubt in my mind. It’s good to get it out of the way so I can focus on the new season, but it was never an issue.”

He added: “I’m 19 so I’m still young, but my main aim is to get in the team and hold down a regular place. Last season was good for me and even if I only feature in a similar way it’s not the end of the world.”

Everton captain Phil Neville is delighted with the progress of his rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Neville had surgery on the knee in May and is part of the squad on their tour of Australia but not yet fit enough to feature in Saturday’s first game against Sydney FC.

“It has actually been fantastic,” said Neville.

“It’s been nine weeks now (since the operation) and at eight weeks I was allowed to start running.

“This week has been more of me slowly settling back into training.

“I have been doing one session a day with the team and another session in the gym to keep the strength up in the knee.

“As pre-season gets closer to the full season I will step up my training.

“I feel really fit, really strong, and for the first time in months I am running without pain in my knee, which is a great sign.

“There are three games this week and it would be great to take part in some of them and get some minutes under my belt.”

Everton are closing in on a deal for Neftchi Baku’s 18-year-old Azerbaijan midfielder Araz Abdullayev.

The player made his international debut at 16 and has already had trials with Rubin Kazan and a couple of Italian clubs.

He was shown around Goodison Park last month and is hoping to move to Everton subject to a work permit.

Steven Pienaar’s agent has denied claims that Everton have not offered him a club-record contract.

Reports had suggested that the South African international was offered an improved offer which would have made him the highest paid player in Everton’s history.

Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have both been linked with Pienaar, who has a year to run on his existing deal at Goodison Park.

Pienaar’s representative, Ivan Modia told Kick-off.com: “I am reluctant to discuss the situation now, but I can confirm that I have been here since June 11 and neither myself nor Steven have met with David Moyes regarding the contract.

“Steven has a year to go on his Everton contract and is not entitled to talk to other clubs.”

Tim Cahill says his red card against Germany as the saddest moment of his career so far.

The Everton midfielder was shown a straight red in Australia’s 4-0 defeat to Germany in their opening game of the World Cup.

Cahill broke down in tears in the post-match media conference and was approached by German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who told him he did not deserve the red card.

“I’m just sad. It’s probably one of the saddest moments of my footballing career to be in this position,” Cahill said.

“To hear Schweinsteiger say that, it’s very nice of him to say it wasn’t a red card. It just shows you how dreams can be made and crushed in the space of hours.

“It’s one of the lowest points of my career. But this is the beauty of football. One day you are a hero, the next day you are at the bottom.”

“My leg stayed bent all the way. Never once did I try to straighten it. What do you want me to say?” he said.

“To have the momentum as we did in the second half, to have Emo (Brett Emerton) on the right and (Richard) Garcia on the left and show some desire to close down, to try and make things work.

“I thought the tempo was good and we just started to pick up and put pressure on them, make it play quicker.

“A lot of credit goes to the German team and for us, it makes it worse. I feel that maybe that decision changed the game, even though we were 2-0 down, I felt the momentum was with us.”

Everton have put a £10m price tag on striker Yakubu after rejecting a £6m bid from West Ham.

The Nigerian has been linked with a Goodison Park exit this summer, but David Moyes is said to want to recoup the majority of the £11.25m fee they paid Middlesbrough in 2007.

Yakubu revealed recently that he nearly joined Tottenham, but an injury scuppered a move to the capital.