Goodison Park to host Carabao Cup clash as Everton agree to let iconic stadium stage men’s football again

GOODISON PARK will host a competitive men’s football match for the first time in 15 months this weekend. Everton‘s former home of 133 years has been the primary residence of the women’s team since the men relocated to Hill Dickinson Stadium last season. Goodison Park has not hosted a competitive men’s football match for well over a year Credit: AFP Preston have laid a new hybrid pitch at Deepdale Credit: Getty But it will be full of fans piling in to watch Carabao Cup action on Saturday. They will not be of a Toffees persuasion, however, as instead it is Preston North End who will use Goodison as their temporary home when they ‘host’ Huddersfield after reaching deals with Everton and the EFL. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Preston have spent £1.5million on a new hybrid pitch at Deepdale – their own historic home turf. And ground staff want to wait until their first Championship home game of the campaign against Wolves on August 22 before exposing it to match action. League One Reading are in a similar predicament, with dry weather stifling the growth of their new pitch. The Royals’ pre-season clash with Charlton, which was due to take place at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, had to be played behind closed doors at The Valley instead. Preston start their league season with a trip to Bolton on August 15, leaving their pitch with three more weeks to grow in. The club said in a statement: “Preston North End have agreed a deal with Everton to host the club’s first round Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Everton moved into Hill Dickinson Stadium ahead of last season Credit: Getty “The Lilywhites applied to the EFL for permission to play at the alternative venue due to the installation of the new hybrid pitch at Deepdale. “The pitch will be complete in time for the club’s first home league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 22nd August, but to ensure no issues after a significant £1.5m-plus investment, the decision was made to ask permission to play away from PR1 in round one.” Goodison has not hosted men’s football since May last year, when Everton beat Southampton 2-0 in an emotional farewell. Hill Dickinson Stadium, which cost £800m and took three and a half years to build, sits in a picturesque location at Bramley-Moore Dock and can hold 13,000 more fans. Comment now