**Everton return to cup action when they host Wolves in the Carabao Cup at the Hill Dickinson on Wednesday 16 September 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 19:45 BST.**
David Moyes brings his side into the fixture off the back of a five-match unbeaten run in league competition, giving the Toffees genuine momentum as they turn their attention to a midweek cup assignment against Championship-chasing opposition.
* Competition: Carabao Cup
* Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
* Kick-off: 19:45 BST
* Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
* Opponent: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Beyond the result itself, the tie carries weight for Moyes as a squad-management exercise. A run in the Carabao Cup allows him to rotate personnel without disrupting the league form that has produced draws against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Bournemouth alongside emphatic wins over Preston North End and Crystal Palace.
Supporters keen on the bigger picture behind that resurgence can read more on [David Moyes’ managerial push](https://readeverton.com/everton-european-qualification-push-david-moyes/) for European football next season. For Wolves, the tie is an opportunity to arrest their Championship inconsistency and give fringe players a competitive test away from their own concerns.
Everton and Wolves have developed a genuinely competitive recent rivalry, with the last five meetings between the sides split almost evenly. Everton have won two of those encounters, Wolves have won one, and two have finished level. The pattern points to a fixture that rarely produces one-sided results, regardless of the two clubs’ contrasting league status heading into any given meeting.
Meeting
Result
Outcome
Most recent
1-1
Draw
Previous
1-1
Draw
Third most recent
2-3
Everton win
Fourth most recent
2-0
Wolves win
Fifth most recent
4-0
Everton win
Everton’s two wins in this sample arrived by an aggregate of 7-3, including a convincing 4-0 success, while their sole defeat in the set was a narrower 2-0 reverse. The two draws, both 1-1, suggest that when the sides are closely matched on the day, fine margins tend to decide the contest.
That balance of results is a useful reference point for a Carabao Cup night that will bring different selection pressures than a typical league game, with both managers likely to freshen up their starting line-ups to differing degrees.
The Hill Dickinson remains a new setting for this fixture in its current form, but the underlying rivalry between the clubs is well established. Everton’s tradition of competitive cup nights at their home is part of a wider club identity rooted in history and civic pride, themes explored further in the site’s look at the [Everton club crest and tradition](https://readeverton.com/nil-satis-nisi-optimum-the-story-and-evolution-of-the-everton-crest/).
That backdrop of history tends to heighten the atmosphere for cup fixtures against unfamiliar opposition, and Wolves will need to cope with a boisterous home crowd looking to build on recent momentum.
Moyes’ side have not lost in their last five outings, a sequence built mainly on defensive solidity. A goalless draw with Spurs at the weekend followed a 2-2 draw against Manchester United and a 1-1 stalemate with Bournemouth.
There were also two markedly one-sided victories: a 4-0 win over Preston North End and a 2-0 success against Crystal Palace on opening day. The spread of results shows a team capable of grinding out points while also delivering when chances are there to be taken. That balance is exactly the profile Moyes will want on show against a Wolves side that has conceded in four of its last five games.
Wolves arrive with three wins, one draw and one defeat from their last five matches, a record that points to attacking promise undermined by defensive inconsistency. Wins over Sheffield United (0-1), Stoke City (4-1) and Sheffield Wednesday (0-2) demonstrate an ability to be clinical on the road, with the 4-1 success at Stoke in particular showing a team capable of scoring freely in the Championship.
That form was interrupted by a 2-2 draw against Birmingham City and then a heavy 4-2 defeat to West Ham United, the kind of result that raises questions about their capacity to see out games against better opposition. Everton, unbeaten in five and defensively well organised, represent a sterner test than much of Wolves’ recent schedule, and how their backline copes with sustained home pressure will likely define the tie.
With team news and final selections yet to be confirmed, the tactical picture is best read through the systems each manager is likely to deploy rather than individual match-ups. Everton’s front line has occasionally shown its cutting edge in this unbeaten run, particularly in the 4-0 rout of Preston and the 2-0 win over Palace.
Moyes will look to repeat that pattern of quick, direct forward play against a Wolves defence that has already shipped four goals in a single match this season. Exploiting those transitions early will be central to Everton’s approach, especially if Wolves commit numbers forward in search of an early goal.