Sunday represents our first visit to Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium, their new home after 133 years at Goodison Park.
That prompted a look at some previous firsts when we've travelled to the blue half of Merseyside - something we've done since 1902!
Everton firsts | Part I
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Let's start with history being made for us on Sunday with our first appearance at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium, the 52,888 capacity venue situated on Bramley-Moore Dock in the city.
What are our most recent 'first' visits to new build stadia in the Premier League?
Not forgetting our stadium opening in April, 2019, here are the last new venues we've visited for the first time in the Premier League era...
Gtech, Brentford - 24 April, 2022AMEX, Brighton - 17 April, 2018 (we officially opened this stadium with a friendly in 2011, arrived in PL in 2017/18)Accu Stadium, Huddersfield - 30 September, 2017 (then the John Smith's and a new stadium for us, opened in 1994, but not in PL until 2017/18)London Stadium, West Ham - 5 May, 2017Vitality, Bournemouth - 24 October, 2016 (renovated from Dean Court in 2001, we played a friendly there in 2009, our first visit in PL was 2016/17)Cardiff City Stadium - 22 September, 2013Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea - 31 December, 2011 (then the Liberty Stadium)MKM Stadium, Hull City - 23 February, 2009 (then the KC Stadium)bet365 Stadium, Stoke City - 19 October, 2008 (then the Britannia)
Emirates Stadium, Arsenal - 2 December, 2006
Our first visit to Goodison Park was for a friendly match on New Year's Day, 1902. As FA Cup holders, we were in demand to play friendly matches and a short New Year tour was undertaken in between Southern League fixtures. A crowd of 10,000 saw the home side win 3-1, Tom Smith netting our goal. We then travelled to Edinburgh for an old fashioned 'Battle of Britain' against Scottish FA Cup holders Hearts the following day, again losing 1-3.
Everton firsts | Part III
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Our first win at Goodison was on New Year's Day, 1913. Billy Minter scored both of our goals in a 2-1 victory with Frank Bradshaw replying. We put together a six-match unbeaten run at Goodison which came to an end 10 years later to the day, New Year's Day, with a 3-1 loss, Alec Lindsay on target.
Everton firsts | Part IV
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Legendary former player and double-winning manager Bill Nicholson, 'Mr Tottenham' earned his one and only England cap at Goodison Park against Portugal on 19 May, 1951. Incredibly, he celebrated his call with the opening goal inside the first 30 seconds - a goal timed by various sources at 16 seconds, some at 19 seconds. Either way, Tommy Lawton holds the record for England's fastest goal timed at 12 seconds against Belgium in 1947.
Two of our greatest goalscorers opened their accounts against Everton. Bobby Smith opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw in Division One on 21 January 1956 - the first of an impressive haul of 208 goals in 317 appearances to sit third in our all-time list behind Jimmy Greaves and Harry Kane. Smith was top scorer in our double season of 1960/61 and netted in the 1961 and 1962 FA Cup Finals. Almost 30 years later, Clive Allen bagged a brace in our 1984/85 season opener, a 4-1 win at Goodison. Clive scored 10 goals in 20 appearances in an injury-hit first season - his best was to follow in 1986/87, when he scored a record 49 goals in all competitions, a record yet to be touched and unlikely to be toppled!
Everton firsts | Part VI
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Our first Premier League visit to Goodison Park in the Premier League era also secured our first PL win at Everton's famous old stadium on 10 February, 1993. Gary Mabbutt opened the scoring, Kenny Sansom levelled and Paul Allen hooked home the winner from - guess what? - a long throw from Pat van den Hauwe!
Everton firsts | Part VII
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The earliest connection between us and Everton was Frank Brettell, who arrived at Spurs in March, 1898 as our first full time secretary/manager, having been one of the founders of Everton. He was only here for a year, but his legacy lived on as he was the man responsible for signing John Cameron, another ex-Evertonian, who succeeded Brettell in February, 1899, guided the team to the Southern League title in 1900 and then became the first player/manager to win the FA Cup, scoring in the replayed final at Bolton as we made history in 1901, the first - and still only - non-league team to lift the FA Cup. Cameron scored 43 goals in 117 Southern League appearances for us and remained as manager until March, 1907.