Sunderland face Everton in the FA Cup this weekend

Everton boss David Moyes has admitted that Sunderland “have done really well” this season, but has claimed that his side are “fortunate” to have been drawn at home in this weekend’s FA Cup third round tie between the two clubs.

The Black Cats travel to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time on Saturday lunchtime, and will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing result in midweek after slumping to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford.

For their part, Everton also dropped points on Wednesday, squandering a one-goal lead and having two men sent off as they drew against the Premier League’s bottom side, Wolves.

But as attention now turns to the cup, Moyes has been quick to emphasise just how much a good run in the competition would mean to Everton. Speaking in a pre-match press conference, he said: “A good cup run for any club... It's a question that gets asked to all the managers and we're all going to say the same thing - there's nobody who doesn't want a good cup run. There's nobody who doesn't want to win the FA Cup final. But it's a harder thing to do. So we start tomorrow and hopefully we can have a good go at it.

“I think it's a big thing for the support. I think for English football, the cup competition has always been something which everybody's been hugely interested in. From years going back, watching it on a Saturday when it was on, etc. All the things that would come from it. So I think we all want a good run in the cup.”

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When asked if Sunderland represented a tricky draw for his team, Moyes replied: “Sunderland have done really well. Everybody would tell you, the Premier League clubs, you're probably hoping not to draw another Premier League club. But it's part of it and you have to take it. The fortunate thing for us, we've got a home tie. That's the big thing.”

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What did David Moyes say about former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford?

Elsewhere, Moyes was also asked about former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and whether he would feature against his old club having been rested in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.

In response, the Scot said: “We've also got other players who want to play as well, but Jordan's been the number one goalkeeper here and made an outstanding save the other night for us. So we hope he's fit and available to play.”

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