The magic of the FA Cup will be live on ITV tonight as Premier League Everton host non-League Boreham Wood at a sold out Goodison Park in the FA Cup fifth round.
It’ll be a true David vs Goliath battle after Boreham Wood stunned Championship high-flyers Bournemouth in the fourth round to set up the trip to Merseyside for what will be their first-ever competitive meeting with a top-flight side.
It’s going to be a tough ask for the minnows though, with Everton having progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on 11 of the last 13 occasions they’ve reached the fifth round, including each of the last five. There are also 78 league places between them.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, Sportsmail compares the two clubs to assess just how big the gap is as Boreham Wood eye one of the biggest Cup upsets of all time.
Boreham Wood stunned Championship high-flyers Bournemouth in the fourth round and the magnitude of that win will be ten-fold if they can replicate it at Goodison Park
Game at Everton will be Boreham Wood’s first-ever competitive meeting with a top-flight side
BUDGET
The National League has been surrounded by talk in recent seasons of how much money is being spent and how much certain teams have, but it’s peanuts in comparison to the Premier League.
Everton have a yearly wage bill of over £114million, which includes big money contracts for the likes of Yerry Mina, Abdolulaye Doucoure, Allan, and Andre Gomes.
All of those top end stars earn £120,000 a week, with plenty of others earning similar amounts and contributing to the club’s huge wage bill.
This is in stark contrast to Luke Garrard’s squad, who will likely be earning less than one per cent of what Mina and Co do each week – if that.
In April 2020, it was reported that a typical National League salary was around £600-700 per week, with some players breaking the £1,000 mark.
Everton’s Yerry Mina earns £120,000 per-week – more than the entire Boreham Wood squad
STADIUM
Goodison Park has hosted more top-flight games than any other stadium in England, while it has also seen an FA Cup final, international matches and a 1966 World Cup semi.
The capacity of the ground is 39,572, which means it is big enough to fit the entire population of Borehamwood (31,074). Everton have averaged home crowds of more than 35,000 this season, too.
It will be a first visit to Goodison for Boreham Wood, whose own ground, the LV Bet Stadium Meadow Park, holds just 4,500 fans.
Their average attendance is just 942 this campaign – despite being in the push for promotion to the Football League – but there will be plenty of supporters making the long trip to Merseyside tonight.
Goodison Park has hosted more top-flight games that any other stadium in England
The capacity of Goodison Park could hold the entire population of Borehamwood
Boreham Wood’s ground Meadow Park has a capacity of just 4,500, with 1,700 seats
BIGGEST SIGNINGS
There is a huge difference when it comes to the two sides’ big signings, with Everton often splashing out on top internationals for huge fees and big wages.
Little Boreham Wood, however, will mainly recruit free transfers, although they do sometimes bring in players from teams in the National League for small undisclosed fees.
Morgan Ferrier is believed to be their record signing still after re-joining the club from Dagenham & Redbridge back in February 2018. He was later sold for £35,000.
Richarlison (pictured) cost Everton an initial £35million when they signed him from Watford
Toffees forward Richarlison, for example, cost the club an initial £35million from Watford, with add-ons potentially taking the fee as high as £50m.
Gylfi Sigurdsson cost £45m in 2017, while Romelu Lukaku, Mina and Alex Iwobi (all £27m) feature in the top five of the Toffees’ most expensive signings.
Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford, who could both be in action tonight, both cost initial fees of £25m, potentially rising to £30m.
MIND THE GAP
The Toffees currently sit 17th, just one place above the relegation zone in the Premier League, while Boreham Wood are fourth in the National League.
There are 78 positions between them in the English football pyramid with the entire Championship, League One and League Two separating the sides.
Reaching the fifth round is a huge achievements for Boreham Wood – they are only the 10th team from outside of the Football League to reach this stage of the competition since 1945.
They follow in the footsteps of Colchester United, Yeovil Town, Blyth Spartans, Telford United, Kidderminster Harriers, Crawley Town, Luton Town, Lincoln City and Sutton United.
Boreham Wood are only the 10th team from outside the Football League to reach the fifth-round stage of the FA Cup since 1945
MANAGERS
Boreham Wood boss Garrard is one of the most talked about managers outside of the Football League for the terrific job he has done over the last six years.
He is still only 36 and has plenty of potential to either earn promotion with his current club or climb up the levels elsewhere.
Garrard will not stop his players swapping shirts with Everton’s – because he has his eye on Frank Lampard’s clobber.
Boreham Wood boss Luke Garrard (left) and Everton’s newly-appointed Frank Lampard (right) will go head-to-head
‘I’m taking Frank Lampard’s shirt off his back! His zippy, his ball. I’m getting everything,’ Garrard said.
‘Seriously, though. This isn’t too much respect. We’ve done our analysis on them. So the respect’s there. Hugely. I’m not foolish in any way, shape, or form. They are unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable.
Lampard, however, only took over the Toffees at the end of January and is still yet to fully turn their fortunes around.
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The former England international midfielder has picked up just one win from his opening four Premier League fixtures – at home to Leeds – but did also earn a victory in his first game in charge, a 4-1 triumph over Brentford in the last round of the Cup.
TEAM NEWS
Lampard will be without January arrivals Anwar El Ghazi, Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek, who are all cup-tied having represented their former clubs earlier in the competition.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is still nursing his adductor issue and he will be joined on the sidelines by Fabian Delph, Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Tom Davies.
Boreham Wood boss Garrard has received a triple boost ahead of the game, with Jamal Fyfield, Nathan Ashmore and James Comley all returning to the squad.
However, right-back Kane Smith will miss out on the opportunity to play against the team he supports because of an injury he sustained against Maidenhead United.
Boreham Wood right-back and Everton fan Kane Smith will sadly miss out with an injury
FORM AND HISTORY
Boreham Wood, who were formed in 1948, have spent their entire existence outside of the English Football League.
Their highest finish came in the 2017-18 campaign when claiming a fourth-place spot in the National League – a division they remain in.
The Wood finished 14th last season but are currently sat third in the fifth tier and, with games in hand on those above them, are pushing hard for promotion into League Two.
They have suffered just two defeats across their last 22 games in all competitions, with one of those – against Wrexham – seeing them bow out of the FA Trophy at the fifth-round stage.
Boreham Wood have suffered just two defeats across their last 22 games in all competitions
Of the sides left in the competition, only Chelsea (eight) have had more different goalscorers in this season’s FA Cup than Boreham Wood (six).
Everton, however, have not had a similar run of form and they’ve struggled this season, most notably under former manager Rafa Benitez.
The Toffees are deeply rooted in a relegation battle – although they do have games in hand on some of their rivals – and some may feel the FA Cup is more of a distraction than it should be at this stage of the season.
Lampard’s men have lost five of their last six Premier League fixtures and their form remains a major cause of concern, despite an improvement in performances since the former Derby boss arrived at Goodison.
Everton have won the FA Cup on five occasions, with their last victory coming back in 1995. They finished as runners up in 2009 after Lampard scored the winning goal to hand Chelsea the trophy.