The wait is finally over, football is back! Good afternoon everyone! Is it just me, or does it feel like an unusually warm Christmas Day? Twelve Premier League teams begin their seasons today, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur already in action. Right here, we'll be focusing on the clash between Everton and new boys Watford at Goodison Park.

Before we delve into the possible outcomes of today's encounter, let's take a quick look back over how both teams did last season. It was a disappointing campaign by Everton's standards. In Roberto Martinez's first season as manager, the team surprised everyone with attacking and free-flowing football to finish fifth, but it was a completely different story in the 2014-15 campaign. The Merseyside outfit fell into the bottom half of the table and recorded an 11th-place finish - a mammoth 23 points adrift of the top four. Surely it can only get better for Everton this season? Time will tell.

For Watford, they had a much more positive campaign. The Hornets began the Championship season out of the running having had four managerial changes, but in the closing stages they put themselves into contention for promotion. In all honesty, they should have won the title, but a few unsavoury results in the last few games gave Bournemouth the crown. Slavisa Jokanovic was the man to guide Watford to the Premier League, but Quique Flores will be the coach in the dugout today. It's a massive task for the Spaniard, but we'll go into that later. Right now, let's bring you the team news from both sides, starting with the hosts...

BREAKING TEAM NEWS! Everton have confirmed that Leighton Baines will play no part in this afternoon's game after picking up a knock in training. The ankle that he had surgery on in May has suffered a setback.

Martinez told the club's official website: "It's really sad and disappointing because Leighton came back probably stronger than ever and this pre-season he showed fantastic signs. So, to lose him in the week that you're preparing to start the season is very disappointing.

"We're just hoping we can get him back quicker than we fear because the injury looks very similar to what he had before."

EVERTON XI: Howard; Galloway, Jagielka, Stones, Coleman; Barry, McCarthy, Cleverley, Barkley; Mirallas; Lukaku

EVERTON BENCH: Robles, Oviedo, Kone, Naismith, Osman, Browning, McAleny

So, with Baines out of the team, it means that young Brendan Galloway has another chance to impress in the back four. Centre-back Phil Jagielka will anchor the back line alongside John Stones, who has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, while Seamus Coleman will maintain his full-back position.

Gareth Barry, James McCarthy, Ross Barkley and Tom Cleverley, who joined the Toffees from Manchester United this summer, come into midfield, while Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku will provide the attacking threat for the home side. There's no place in the squad for summer arrival Gerard Deulofeu as he continues to struggle with an injury.

Now for the visitors, who have handed debuts to SIX players...

WATFORD XI: Gomes; Nyom, Cathcart, Prodl, Holebas; Capoue, Behrami; Anya, Jurado, Layun; Deeney

WATFORD BENCH: Gilmartin, Angella, Paredes, Pudil, Watson, Ighalo, Vydra

So, there's plenty of new faces in the Watford team for their first game since earning promotion back to the Premier League in May. Allan Nyom, Sebastian Prodl, Jose Holebas, Valon Behrami, Etienne Capoue and Jose Jurado will make their debuts this afternoon. As expected, Heurelho Gomes will take his place his goal, while Craig Cathcart anchors a new-look back four.
Nyom, Prödl, Holebas, Behrami, Capoue and Jurado

Ikechi Anya and Migeul Layun have slotted into midfield, while Troy Deeney has been given goalscoring responsibility as the lone striker up front. Matej Vydra, who signed a permanent deal at Vicarage Road after spending last season on loan from Udinese, has been given a spot on the bench.

Right, before we turn our attention to today's action, let's look back at Everton's activity this summer. Martinez has only brought in two new faces to strengthen his squad so far, but the Spaniard recently revealed that he wants to acquire three more signings before the transfer window shuts on September 2.

Earlier this week he told reporters: "We know where we are and what we needed. We need to bring three players into the squad to allow us be in the shape we want to be. Overall I am very pleased but to be competitive we need the three new signings and will work hard to get them."

While recruiting new faces is important for Everton, keeping their star players is arguably the main priority. The club have been boosted by James McCarthy and Kevin Mirallas signing new deals, but the future of defender John Stones remains up in the air. Chelsea have been publicly pursuing the England Under-21 international and have had two bids rejected by the Merseyside outfit. Even John Terry recently said that Stones would be one for the future. As expected, those comments were not welcomed by Martinez.

The Everton boss told reporters: "That was wrong. You know that is illegal, the rule doesn't allow you to comment on players that are registered at other clubs in that open manner. We all know there are rules and regulations and it is something we don't want to see when other clubs speak about your players. It is wrong and it shouldn't happen."

Martinez also revealed that Stones has been unsettled by the transfer news surrounding him. Is that an indication that he is considering a move away, or as a 21-year-old, is he simply struggling to cope with the attention on him? Well, he plays today, so Martinez clearly believes that his defender is mentally focused on the game.

With regards to matters on the pitch, in the run-up to this fixture, Everton secured three victories, one draw and three defeats in their pre-season schedule. One of those losses came at the hands of Arsenal, who sealed a 3-1 victory over the Toffees in the Asia Trophy in Singapore. For Watford, they head into this game on the back of two consecutive defeats, but overall, they recorded three victories, three defeats and one draw. The main talking point for Watford, though, is the plethora of players who have come through the doors at Vicarage Road.

The newly-promoted top-flight side have spent over £20m on sealing the signatures of Etienne Capoue, Matej Vydra, Steven Berghuis, Valon Behram, Jose Holebas, Miguel Britos, Jose Jurado and Allan Nyom. In addition, the club have brought in Sebastian Prodl and Giedrius Arlauskis on free transfers. Phew, that's a lot of names to get through! The worry for Watford is how quickly are all those players going to blend into the squad? In the Premier League, team's can't really afford to take their time.

However, it does not appear that Flores is concerned. Earlier this week, the Watford boss told BBC Sport: "We are ready, and we are excited to start in the Premier League. We are working hard to focus on this match, so for us this is a perfect moment.

"We are going to play against a tough team like Everton, and it is always important to start well, but I have a lot of confidence with the players. I am very happy to lead these players into the Premier League and it will be interesting to see what the response of the team is."

Upon arriving at Goodison Park, Watford's media team have been busy...

TUNNEL: #watfordfc walk the walk, arriving here at Goodison Park. https://t.co/4DF6GmyaNI — Watford FC (@WatfordFC) August 8, 2015

As mentioned earlier, Flores came into the club this summer after spending just over a month in charge of Getafe, before leaving for reported personal reasons. Watford allowed Jokanovic to leave when his contract expired, but it's difficult to understand why a club would cut ties with the man who helped push the team to Premier League promotion. The decision was made though, and now it's up to Flores to keep the club afloat.

The main priority, as it is for most newly-promoted clubs in their first season, is to make sure that they remain a Premier League outfit when the next campaign rolls around. Troy Deeney is expected to play a pivotal role in Watford's campaign given that he scored 21 goals in the Championship last season. However, the Premier League is a completely different animal and it will be interesting to see how the forward fares against a higher standard of opposition this season.

In all honesty, with all the squad changes, it's hard to even consider how Watford's season will develop, or even how the team will approach games! Although, in our season preview, we've predicted that the club will get relegated (sorry Watford fans!).

What should Everton be targeting for this season? Well, a top-half finish is surely a must following their disappointing campaign, which ended in 11th place in May. It was clear that Everton struggled with the demands of playing midweek Europa League games last season, but without the stresses of Europe this time around, they will be able to put all their energy into league commitments. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are expected to be the sides knocking on the door of the top four this season, but that is likely to be too much of an ask for Everton.

With regards to this particular match, it's been a while since these two sides have gone head to head, but the statistics are poor reading for Watford as they have lost their last nine games against Everton. The shining light for the Hornets is that Everton have conceded more goals on the opening weekend than any other Premier League club, and according to bwin, the Merseyside outfit have won just six of their last 22 opening weekends.

PREDICTION: The statistics of opening-day weekends are not too kind for Everton, but we think that Martinez's side will claim victory today. Coming up against a newly-promoted side automatically puts the more established team as favourite, and in this case, the uncertainty of Watford's team indicates that this could be a comprehensive victory for Everton. On the flip side, with the Toffees not knowing too much about their opponents, it could result in an upset. For us though, we're going for a 2-0 home win.

Our Sports Mole sofa panellists Matt Law and Pascal Lemesre have had their say on the encounter. Hit play below to get their thoughts.

So, we have less than 10 minutes to go until kickoff in this match. While you wait, let me just bring you news that Manchester United have secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. An own goal from Kyle Walker separated the two sides. Read our match report here.

Right, both sets of players are out on the field. Kickoff is shortly approaching on this warm sunny day on Merseyside.

KICKOFF! Watford get us underway at Goodison Park wearing yellow and black. Everton in their traditional blue.

Everton have had the ball in these early exchanges. Barkley moves to the edge of box to receive the ball from McCarthy, but he's swarmed by Watford players and he is unable to get a shot away.

Barry launches the ball upfield towards Lukaku, who manages to leap higher than his marker and knock the ball down, but Watford are able to regain possession.

Watford get some time on the ball, and it's thumped forward looking for Deeney, but the ball drifts more towards Howard, who is able to gather with ease.

The away side have shown more intent in the last few minutes and it's become a rather open game now. However, neither side have posed much of a goal threat as yet.

Galloway has impressed in these early stages as he looks comfortable on the ball when challenged by an opponent. The defender covers his centre-back well by moving across to intercept from Deeney.

Jagielka comes under pressure from Herado in his own half, but he eventually clears by booting it back towards the centre circle. Watford are looking more comfortable as the minutes go by.

Well, well, well! Watford have taken an early lead against Everton through Miguel Layun. The visitors work the ball wide before Anya makes a run to the front post. The ball gets knocked back to Layun, who strikes on the volley to give the Hornets a one-goal lead. Can Everton respond?

Galloway tries to calm things down for Everton as he charges down the left side, but Deeney gets the better of them and Watford regain possession with a throw-in. The visitors definitely have their tails up!

Watford go on the attack as Layun gets the ball at his feet before running across the 18-yard box, but he gets muscled out of the way, and in honesty, should have been given a free kick.

CHANCE! At the other end, for the first time of the match, Everton are able to free Coleman down the right-hand side. He delivers a cross in, which is headed out for a corner by Cathcart. The set piece comes in and the ball finds the head of Barry, who knocks it towards goal, but Gomes it able to get fingers on it to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Everton knock the ball around midfield, but they're forced to move it quickly as each player is getting closed down by the men in yellow and black. A very positive start from Watford, but you expect Everton to find their rhythm eventually.

The home side are struggling to find a way through, and Prodl does well by getting in front of his man to intercept a pass. Barkley receives the ball on the edge of the area and is urged to shoot by the home crowd, but he's closed down by the Watford defence.

Some great hold-up play from Deeney as he tries to feed the ball through to Capoue, but it's just a touch too far and Jagielka is able to get across and clear the danger.

At the other end, Lukaku calls for the ball and he gets his wish as he chests it down, but Gomes is there to latch onto the ball to prevent the Belgian from setting up a shot.

We're almost half an hour into the first half and Deeney is looking very comfortable. It's great news for Watford fans as the forward does not look fazed at all by the pressure of playing in the Premier League.

Barkley latches onto a loose ball and plays it wide to Mirallas, who cuts inside, but it's congested in the final third and Watford are hounding their opponents whenever the men in blue have the ball.

Barkley finds space and he goes for a 25-yard effort, which sky-rockets into the stands. It's a poor effort, but he had every right to go for it considering the lack of chances that Everton are creating.

SAVE! Some lovely play from Everton as Cleverley lays the ball to Barkley on the corner of the box. The England man tries to whip it towards the top right corner, but Gomes gets a hand to it and tips it over the bar.

Since taking the lead, Watford have dropped very deep. They've pressed well off the ball, but if they continue to drop back into their own half, they'll struggle to get in the right areas quickly when on the attack.

The ball is fed over the top towards Mirallas, who moves to the right edge of the box to cross it in for Lukaku, but the Belgian striker is penalised for pushing Prodl.

Everton have had all the possession in these last few minutes, but in truth, they haven't been able to do much with it. Lukaku has struggled to pose a dangerous threat, but that's mainly down to the lack of quality passes.

Barkley charges towards the box from the middle of the park, but Cathcart does well to bully the midfielder away from the centre of the area, where he may have tried a shot. Galloway gets possession and sends in a cross, but the Watford defence gets to it first.

Everton get a free kick 25 yards from the box. Mirallas sends it in over the top searching for Jagielka, who reads his teammate's idea, but it just bobbles away from him and behind the line.

Nyom shows his strength by charging past two blue shirts. Galloway is out of position and as the ball is feeded towards Anya, Jagielka is able to cover ground and get across.

BOOKING! Deeney gets cautioned by referee Mike Jones for a poor challenge in Everton's penalty box. Anya gets in behind Galloway, but it's clumsy from his teammate as Deeney tries to chase the ball and lunges in with two feet. It could easily have been red.

Did Gomes just handle the ball out of his area?! The ball is sent over the top towards Lukaku, but the Watford keeper comes off his line in time to push it out of the Belgian's path with his arm. On replay, it shows that the shot-stopper was just inside the line.

CHANCE! Layun comes close to getting a second for the visitors as he drills a right-footed effort from 25 yards out, but the ball just zips wide of the post.

Boos ring around the stadium as the referee signals the end of the first half with his whistle. As you'd expect, the home crowd are not happy! I don't think many would have predicted that Watford would be entering the half-time interval with a comfortable lead. Miguel Layun is the man who struck for the visitors inside the first 15 minutes, and it was a deserved goal following the Hornets' positive start.

Many expected Watford to struggle in their opening game due to the amount of summer signings brought into the club. Six players made their debuts, but from the performance so far, you wouldn't think that more than half of the team were new arrivals! The team have pressed well off the ball and have prevented Everton from creating any meaningful chances.

The visitors have also had a slice of luck as they could easily have gone down to 10 men after Troy Deeney's poor challenge. The forward was given a yellow for a two-footed lunge on Brendan Galloway in Everton's penalty area. On another day, the striker would have been given his marching orders.

For Everton, at the moment, they seem short of ideas. The Merseyside outfit have had plenty of possession, but they haven't been able to do too much damage with it. Romelu Lukaku has got himself into some good positions, but Watford's Craig Cathcart and new boy Sebastian Prodl have been able to keep the Belgian quiet.

Roberto Martinez may consider making some changes for the second half as something seems to be missing for the Toffees. The positive for Everton though, is that if Watford continue to drop deep and close down, they could tire, which could benefit the hosts.

While we wait for the second half to get underway, let's update you with the half-time scores from elsewhere in the Premier League.

Bournemouth 0-0 Aston Villa
Leicester City 3-0 Sunderland
Norwich City 0-1 Crystal Palace

RESTART! Everton get us underway for the second half. Can the home side respond or will Watford maintain their lead?

Lovely ball from Mirallas! The Belgian whips it into the box and it swerves across the face of goal, but there's no takers and the ball bobbles away. It's a quick start from the home side!

The time, Lukaku gets a foot on the ball before moving out wide to deliver a cross in from the right side. He manages to get it away, but Gomes gets to the ball first and gathers for Watford.

SAVE! Everton have started this second half on the attack. Mirallas whips a cross into the box, but instead of finding a teammate, it soars towards goal and forces Gomes to tip it over the crossbar.

MISS! Lukaku comes inches close to equalising for Everton. Barkley sends a perfect cross into the box to find the Belgian, who heads the ball just wide of the post. Was that the moment?

The pace is at a very high tempo as Everton try to search for that all-important equaliser. The team have found a lot of space on the right-hand side with Mirallas and Coleman. Watford get a bit of respite when Lukaku is flagged offside.

BOOKING! Coleman is the first Everton player to receive a yellow card as he brings down Capoue from behind while the Watford man was on the counter-attack.

It's all Everton at the moment. Watford are riding their luck at the moment as the home side's efforts just aren't coming off. The way it's going though, you feel like it's just a matter of time before the hosts score.

Everton produce two quick chances as the ball is launched into the box for Lukaku, who jumps with Gomes, but the goalkeeper gets the touch first to push away the ball. It doesn't go far though, as Mirallas latches on and drills a shot at goal, but it just misses the target. Much more energy from Everton in this second half.

Stones knocks the ball into the box from a free kick. Lukaku gets a header on it, but as he guides it towards the centre of the area, Watford are well placed to clear the danger. The visitors are hanging on a bit here!

WATFORD SUB: Goalscorer Layun makes way for Paredes as the Hornets make the first substitution of the game.

Barkley sends it forward towards Lukaku, but he fails to time his run correctly and Watford are able to regain possession, but not for long as Everton go on the attack again.

EVERTON SUB: A rather peculiar change as Kone comes on to replace Galloway. Does this mean that the hosts are switching to a back three?

No it doesn't... Everton stick with a back four as Barry moves to left-back. Perhaps young Galloway is struggling with an injury. Although, he didn't look troubled when he came off the pitch.

Watford get some rare time on the ball as Anya charges down the field and gets into the box. He unleashes a left-footed shot at goal, but Stones blocks the attempt and shows why Chelsea are so interested in him.

BOOKING! A silly yellow card for Holebas as he takes too long on a throw-in.

Seconds later, Holebas is involved as he thumps in a long-range effort at goal. It's a good attempt as Howard punches the ball away.

CHANCE! Ah, Kone should have done much better there. A great delivery from Cleverley finds the forward in the box. Kone gets a head to the ball, and Gomes can do nothing as it moves towards goal, but the Everton forward's effort just misses the target and goes over the crossbar.

Oh dear, Mirallas looks to be in pain as he writhes around on the floor after getting caught by Behrami. It's a real worry for Everton as the Belgian gets treatment on the pitch.

Mirallas is able to hobble off the pitch and it looks as though he wants to run it off, but he keeps clutching his ankle. At the moment, Everton are playing with 10 men.

Mirallas comes back on the pitch and he's involved straight away as he passes out wide to Coleman. A terrific ball in from the full-back searches for Lukaku in the box, but Gomes rises to punch clear.

At the other end, Watford try to put Everton under some pressure on the edge of the box. Anya whips in a cross, but he fails to find a teammate as the ball just drops behind the goal.

WATFORD SUB: The visitors make another change as debutant Jurado comes off the field and is replaced with Ighalo, who scored 20 goals last season.

Wow, what a strike from Barkley! The local boy equalises for his hometown club. The ball is knocked into the box towards Kone, who manages to bring it down. With pressure from the defender behind him, the striker lays it off for Barkley, who thumps the ball into the top corner.

EVERTON SUB: That's the end of Mirallas's afternoon as he makes way for Oviedo.

Well, what can Watford do now? It's been a great half from Everton and the goal was coming. The visitors were so positive in the first half, but they look slightly tired now. At this point, I think Watford will be happy with a draw.

WATFORD SUB: The away side make their final change as Watson enters the action, replacing Behrami.

Everton are on the attack again as the ball is whipped into the box, but Holebas is able to head the ball away.

What a dream goal for Watford! Ighalo puts the visitors back in front with less than 10 minutes to go. The substitute shows great footwork to cut inside on his right and leave Stones on the floor. He drills the ball past Howard and into the back of the net. What a recovery from the newly-promoted side.

My oh my! Everton respond again to draw 2-2! It's a special moment for Kone as he receives the ball quickly off Lukaku in the box, and with one touch, the striker sends the ball across Gomes and into the back of the net. The way these last few minutes have gone, who knows what will happen next!

Oviedo storms down the left-hand side and knocks the ball across for Lukaku, who goes for goal with a low drive, but it's a tight angle and Gomes is able to get his body in the way and prevent another dramatic goal.

EVERTON SUB: As the fourth official indicates a minimum of five additional minutes, the home side bring Naismith into the action and withdraw Lukaku from the field.

The Everton crowd yell for a penalty when Naismith goes down in the box after a tussle with Prodl, but the referee is having none of it, and rightfully so as Naismith looked to infringe the defender in the initial coming together.

Some lovely imagination from Kone as he feeds the ball through towards Naismith in the box, but Cathcart reads the play well and dives down to knock the ball away.

Well, as opening Premier League games go, I'd say this is up there with one of the most exciting! Miguel Layun opened the scoring for the visitors at Goodison Park inside the first 15 minutes, but Ross Barkley was able to respond in the second half. Late goals from Odion Ighalo and Arouna Kone ensured that Everton and Watford went home with a point each.

Thank you for joining Sports Mole for this afternoon's coverage. Make sure you stick around for all the latest reaction, match analysis and player ratings. Until next time, good bye!