Everton vs Mansfield Prediction: Lack of options shouldn’t stop the Toffees

Everton entertain Mansfield Town at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday (19:45, Sky Sports+), with the Toffees looking to build on their debut victory inside their new home - beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 on Sunday in the Premier League.

Mansfield were 2-0 victors at Chesterfield in the last round but the Stags face a much sterner test against top flight opposition. Read on for my Everton vs Mansfield predictions, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Everton's current lack of squad depth will not allow boss David Moyes to make too many changes to his team from the weekend, so a lot of key personnel are likely to start on Tuesday.

This isn't helped by injuries to Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) and Vitalii Mykolenko (groin). The Toffees are suffering for a lack of full-back options at the moment with centre-back Jake O'Brien and midfielder James Garner filling in at right-back and left-back respectively for the first two games of the season.

Football Odds

Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye may be given some respite, opening the door for Carlos Alcaraz and Dwight McNeil to get some valuable minutes on the pitch. Veteran Idrissa Gana Gueye might also be handed a rest after covering a lot of ground in the opening two league matches of the campaign.

Debuts could be in store for goalkeeper Mark Travers, full-back Adam Aznou and winger Tyler Dibling - with the latter just joining in a £42m deal from Southampton.

Mansfield welcomed back George Maris, Stephen McLaughlin and Ryan Sweeney from injury for their win over Leyton Orient at the weekend in League 1, with each of them entering the fray in the second half. Boss Nigel Clough could consider giving them a start on Merseyside.

Rhys Oates failed a late fitness test, however, and could remain out for the Stags. Joe Gardner, Deji Oshilaja and Lee Greogry are also sidelined for the visitors.

Max Dickov is a new recruit from Brentford, and he has instantly become a starter in midfield, starting the last two matches since arriving earlier this month. He's set to keep his place in the middle of the park.

Everton vs Mansfield Odds

Everton marked their first competitive fixture at their new stadium with a victory, and they are the 2/9 favourites to win this tie in regulation time. Better value can be found in backing the hosts to win to nil at 4/5 (implied probability of 55.6%), which they managed against Brighton at the weekend.

At least one team has failed to score in the Toffees' opening two matches of the season, and BTTS - No is on offer at 8/13.

If you think this tie will go to a penalty shoot-out, the draw is marketed at 5/1.

Mansfield are 14/1 to stun the hosts, but they have won four matches on the spin across all competitions.

Everton to win to nil @ 4/5

Everton responded to their opening weekend defeat in the Premier League at Leeds United with a solid 2-0 victory at home against Brighton last time out, to mark the perfect housewarming for their new stadium.

A quick turnaround awaits them as game number two at this ground sees them face an in-form Mansfield side in the cup. Given that there are two divisions between the two teams there is expected to be a gulf in class between them, although Everton's lack of squad depth may lead to some fatigue in the second half if many of their key players are in from the off.

However, their quality should ultimately shine through and I think they can register another relatively comfortable home win to see them advance to the third round of the Carabao Cup - and I'm backing them to record a second consecutive clean sheet in the process.

Under 3.5 goals @ 8/15

One thing that we have noticed from Everton's first two matches of the new term is that clear-cut goalscoring opportunities have not been as frequent as they would like.

They were clinical with the ones they conjured at the weekend - the difference having Grealish makes - but if he is rested for this contest, there might be a lack of ideas in the final third.

I don't think this will lead to them struggling to find the net as I believe their individual quality will shine through. I just don't see them putting the Stags to the sword.

Under 3.5 goals looks appealing as a result because it has struck in Everton's opening two Premier League games of the season.

This has also been a successful bet in five of Mansfield's six appearances across all competitions in 2025/26.

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