The Premier League is back! We have had to wait 13 weeks, but it's finally here! Hopes will be high for every football fan in the land today as most clubs kick off their campaigns this afternoon. Champions Leicester City have already begun their title defence, but it's not quite going to plan as they are currently trailing 2-1 to Hull City. Swansea City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City, Southampton, Watford, Manchester City and Sunderland will all be in action today. Newly-promoted sides Burnley and Middlesbrough will also get their top-flight campaigns underway.

Right here, though, we will be bringing you all the action from the clash between Everton and Tottenham at Goodison Park. The two clubs had very different seasons in the 2015-16 campaign - Everton finished a lowly 11th while Spurs ended third and sealed a Champions League spot. The Toffees also have a new manager at the helm in Ronald Koeman, who left Southampton in the summer to replace sacked Roberto Martinez.

Before we delve any deeper, let's bring you the lineups for both sides!

EVERTON XI: Stekelenburg; Baines, Funes Mori, Jagielka, Holgate; Gueye, Barry, McCarthy; Mirallas, Barkley; Deulofeu
Subs: Robles, Kone, Lennon, Cleverley, Oviedo, Davies, Galloway

TOTTENHAM XI: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Wanyama; Lamela, Eriksen, Alli; Kane
Subs: Vorm, Davies, Carter-Vickers, Winks, Mason, Onomah, Janssen

The bad news for Everton is that Romelu Lukaku and Seamus Coleman have not made the matchday squad due to respective heel and ankle injuries. The good news is that Maarten Stekelenburg and Idrissa Gueye make their first Premier League appearances since joining the Toffees this summer. New signing Ashley Williams is not match fit so sits out of this match, meaning that Ramiro Funes Mori and rumoured Sunderland target Phil Jagielka partner at the back.

Leighton Baines and Mason Holgate are also included in the defence, while Gueye, Gareth Barry and James McCarthy line the midfield. Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley are also given the nod to start, while Gerard Deulofeu has been pushed further up in a more central role.

BREAKING INJURY NEWS! Koeman has just confirmed to the club's Twitter page that Coleman will be out of action for "several weeks" because of his ankle injury. Bad news for Everton.

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So, how has Mauricio Pochettino lined up his team? Summer signing Victor Wanyama has been handed his Premier League start for Spurs, and will play alongside Eric Dier in midfield. Vincent Janssen, who also joined the North London outfit recently, has to settle for a spot on the bench as Harry Kane leads the line.

It is a Tottenham team that we're used to seeing as Hugo Lloris lines up in goal, with Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose in defence. Ahead of Dier and Wanyama, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli play, with Kane leading from the front.

TOTTENHAM XI: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Wanyama; Lamela, Eriksen, Alli; Kane

Interesting substitutes for Spurs as Pochettino has named youngsters Josh Onomah, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Harry Winks on the bench.

So, there's two summer signings that start for Everton today. The club were quite slow to get going in the transfer market despite new majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri promising plenty of funds. In the last couple of weeks, though, Koeman has been busy altering the team's personnel. Goalkeeper Stekelenburg was the first to come through the door for an undisclosed fee from Fulham. Gueye signed from relegated Aston Villa for a £7.1m fee and will provide competition in midfield.

Earlier this week, the Merseyside outfit sealed the signature of Swansea City defender Ashley Williams for a reported £12m fee, which could prove to be a bargain given his consistent performances for the Swans and his national side Wales, whom he helped reach the semi-finals of this summer's European Championships in France. Just to reiterate, he has not had a full pre-season because of the tournament and therefore isn't match fit, which is why he's not in the squad today.

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Williams's arrival came 24 hours after John Stones left Goodison Park to join Manchester City for a rumoured £47.5m, which makes him the most expensive defender in Britain. Stones was first-choice centre-back under Martinez last season and he has been named by City as one of the best young defenders in Europe. The England international is a ball-playing centre-back, but he was inconsistent last season. With regards to the acquisitions of both Williams and Stones, I wonder who has got the better deal? Only time will tell.

Don't forget, there are still a few weeks left before the summer transfer window shuts, so there could be more arrivals at Everton. Lamine Kone from Sunderland is expected to come through the welcome gates at Goodison Park, while Yannick Bolasie is also rumoured to be on the verge of joining the club from Crystal Palace in a £25m deal.

It will be interesting to see how Romelu Lukaku's future unfolds in the coming days as well. At the moment, it's gone a bit quiet, but there have been reports that Chelsea are keen to re-sign the striker, who left them to join Everton in 2014. It is also believed that Lukaku wants to go back to Stamford Bridge, but the Toffees seem to be digging their heels in, demanding £50m from the West London club. Watch this space!

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Not only has their been changes to the team, there has also been changes to the coaching staff and hierarchy. As we know, Koeman took the reins after Roberto Martinez was sacked in the final week of last season (Martinez is now the manager of Belgium!). We mentioned him earlier - Farhad Moshiri took a controlling stake in the club a few months ago, and with him came plenty of money! There was also a new appointment behind the scenes as Steve Walsh was appointed director of football after he opted to leave his head of recruitment role at Leicester City.

So, how are Everton looking heading into today's game? Of course pre-season is more about bringing up fitness levels and getting footballers back in shape, but in terms of results, Koeman's side won two of their five games, lost two and drew one. The wins came against English opposition Barnsley and MK Dons, with three goals scored in each match by the Toffees. They were defeated 2-1 by Dynamo Dresden in Germany, and held by Real Betis 1-1. Their final match of pre-season was against Espanyol at home, where they were beaten 1-0.

Prior to the match, Koeman spoke to the media about his team's fitness levels. He told reporters: "We are, in terms of physical state, 70% of what we need to be. We are working hard and we will improve.

"I doubt that means we will start to play at 70%. But if I compare the numbers of the physical states of the players, it is 70% and at Southampton it was 100%."

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So, how have Everton done on previous opening weekends? Well, they have struggled for wins! Interestingly, their last three opening matches have ended in 2-2 draws. We all know it was a disappointing campaign overall for Everton last season - they recorded their lowest ever total in a Premier League season by picking up just 23 points at home.

DID YOU KNOW? New boy Gueye made 144 tackles and 141 interceptions in the top flight last season for Aston Villa. Only N'Golo Kante, who left Leicester to join Chelsea last month, made more.

Finishing in the top half of the table should be the minimum aim for Everton this season, but I'm sure Koeman will be eyeing a Europa League spot and possibly a trophy in the FA Cup or League Cup. Whether they can do it remains to be seen.

Right, let's switch our attention to Tottenham, shall we? Mauricio Pochettino's side exceeded expectations by launching a realistic challenge for the Premier League title. As we all know, Leicester shocked the world by taking the crown, but in the end, Spurs were their only rivals. Despite a hugely positive campaign, it was a disappointing end as the team failed to win their final four league games.

They were held to a 1-1 draw by West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane, but they were mathematically dumped out of the title race in a fiery London derby against Chelsea. The match ended 2-2, but the goals weren't the main talking point as two brawls broke out between both sets of players over the course of 90 minutes, while there were also individual spats on the field. Both clubs were charged by the FA, while Mousa Dembele was hit with a separate six-game ban for eye-gouging Diego Costa.

It seems as though the pressure got to a lot of Tottenham's young players, but they will be hoping to be in the mix once again for the title this season. It will be much harder for Pochettino and his men, though, as teams that disappointed last season are expected to do better, particularly as they have new managers at the helm. Jose Mourinho is the man in charge of Manchester United, while Pep Guardiola will lead Manchester City into the new season. Chelsea failed to qualify for Europe last season, so their focus will solely be on the league, and they have Antonio Conte steering the ship.

Pochettino may also need to be concerned by his rivals' spending in the summer transfer window. Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United have splashed the cash, while Spurs have not been quite as dominant in the window. So far they have recruited Vincent Janssen and Victor Wanyama.

Janssen will join Tottenham's attack to help ease the burden on Harry Kane, whose tiredness was apparent during England's failed Euro 2016 campaign. Wanyama was wanted by Pochettino last summer, but he had to wait a year to sign the midfielder from Southampton. The Kenyan arrived at White Hart Lane in an £11m deal, and it will be interesting to see where he figures given that Eric Dier performed well in a defensive midfielder role last season.

The transfer rumours surrounding Spurs at the moment are centred on a player already in their ranks - Christian Eriksen. It has been claimed that the Dane is demanding £150,000 a week a White Hart Lane, which has forced contract talks into a stalemate. Today, though, his agent Martin Schoots told the London Evening Standard that Eriksen is "happy" at the North London club. The midfielder has two years left on his current deal.

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Tottenham played three friendlies during their pre-season schedule and they managed to win just one of them. In fairness to Spurs it was an emphatic win as they thumped Inter Milan 6-1 with Kane, Janssen, Erik Lamela, Dele Alli and Shayon Harrison getting on the scoresheet.

The other two games were against Juventus and Atletico Madrid. Lamela managed to get on the scoresheet against Juve, but goals from Paulo Dybala and Medhi Benatia resulted in the match going the Italian champions' way. Against Atletico, Spurs failed to find the back of the net and the only goal of the friendly came from Diego Godin.

DID YOU KNOW? Spurs have suffered defeat nine times on the opening weekend of a Premier League season. West Ham also have that record. If Tottenham lose today, they would have been beaten three times in a row in the Premier League for the first time since November 2012.

Those are not hugely positive stats, but keep in mind that Pochettino's team lost just six league games last season, which is fewer than any other league campaign in their history. Also, Kane will have added incentive to get on the scoresheet today as he is one goal away from reaching 50 in the Premier League.

Earlier this week, Pochettino revealed that held a meeting with his players during pre-season to discuss their collapse at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.

He told reporters: "I wanted to kill all of them and I wanted to kill myself too. I told them that. I just said 'if I had the opportunity to kill you, then I would have killed everyone.' I am very honest with them and they are very honest with me. There is a very good relationship.

"Maybe I am the first manager to start pre-season with this kind of meeting. But it's a good point because always I believe that we need to use our experience to improve. It's important to take something from every experience and you always need to find the positives."

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HEAD TO HEAD: Everton have struggled to beat Tottenham in recent years, drawing four and losing three of their last seven Premier League matches against one another. Six goals were scored across their last four meetings, and all of them were netted in the first half.

We're only a few minutes away from kickoff now! Ashley Williams was just paraded in front of the Everton fans at Goodison. It's safe to say that they're happy with his arrival!

KICKOFF! Everton get us underway! Fingers crossed for a decent opening-day clash.

Spurs are showing some grit in these early stages. Everton are hanging onto the ball, but Pochettino's men are closing them down in an attempt to snatch possession from them.

Interestingly it looks as though McCarthy is playing as right wing-back, with a back three of Holgate, Jagielka and Funes Mori.

It's the perfect start for Koeman and his team! Everton take the lead through Ross Barkley's free kick. The England international delivers the ball into the area, and it's poor defending from Spurs as the ball bounces and nestles into the far corner of the net.

Spurs have the chance to respond as Lamela runs with the ball in midfield before some nice link-up play with Eriksen, but they fail to find a way through.

Tottenham are piling on some pressure now! They move the ball quickly around the box before Walker smashes a shot towards goal. It's blocked but bounces into Eriksen's path. The Dane pulls the trigger, but Everton clear.

CHANCE! At the other end, Deulofeu tries to make it 2-0 by collecting the ball on the edge of the box. He uses quick feet to get away from his marker before drilling a low shot, but it goes straight at Lloris.

It's all Spurs at the moment. They look determined to bounce back from conceding. Lamela has seen plenty of the ball and he exchanges passes with Dier and Walker, but so far, Everton are keeping them at bay.

A collision in midfield between Wanyama and Mirallas looks to have left both hurt, but neither come off and Everton are awarded a free kick.

SAVE! A vital stop from Lloris denies Barkley a second goal! The midfielder takes the 45-yard free kick and he heads straight for goal. The ball is dipping, but Lloris gets a hand on it to tip it over the bar.

Oh dear, Kane is fuming! The England striker is through on goal and only has Funes Mori challenging him. The pair tussle as Kane approaches the box and his opponent goes to ground, prompting referee Martin Atkinson to give the hosts a free kick.

MISS! What a chance for Barkley! The midfielder bombs into the area to get on the end of Baines's cross. He manages to meet it six yards out from goal, but he lets himself down with a header that sends the ball over the bar.

We reach the 20-minute mark and while Spurs have seen most of the ball, they have yet to really test Stekelenburg. Considering that Everton do not have a recognised striker, they have looked threatening up front.

Some miscommunication between Eriksen and Wanyama as the former plays a dummy, leaving the ball for his teammate to run onto on the edge of the area, but he fails to read it and Everton retrieve the ball.

Alli heads the ball forward, paving a way for Lamela, but Jagielka manages to get there first and cuts out a potential attack. Everton look comfortable at the moment.

A diagonal long ball is lofted into the box by Alderweireld. It reaches Alli, who knocks it down for Kane, but the England striker can't get there in time.

Spurs work the ball well in Everton's final third and Eriksen gets it on the edge of the box and tries to swing a shot past the keeper, but Stekelenburg catches it comfortably.

There's some frustrated Spurs players out there! Everton are not leaving their opponents much room, particularly in midfield. Barry gives away a foul after bringing down Alli.

Good work from Gueye as he nicks the ball off Eriksen on the edge of the area. Once again, Spurs display some crisp passes in the danger area, but at the moment, it's not coming to anything.

At the other end, Deulofeu looks threatening as he edges forward from the corner of the penalty area, but Dier does well to tackle the ball from him.

A chance almost opens up for Everton as Deulofeu passes into Barkley's feet in the centre of the box, but it's a heavy touch from the midfielder and the ball gets away from him. Barkley's been heavily involved in this half.

TOTTENHAM SUB: Oh dear, it's not getting any better for Spurs. Pochettino is forced to take off goalkeeper Lloris and replace him with Vorm. It's not clear what the Frenchman's injury is.

Lamela teases the ball into the box in an attempt to play Kane in, but the striker is just off the pace and fails to get on the end of it.

Alli charges down the left side and aims for the corner of the box, but he's tracked by Jagielka and the Everton defender nicks the ball off him.

Walker whips the ball in from the right-hand side of the area, but Jagielka manages to clear. It's been a very solid performance from the centre-back so far.

Once again, Spurs knock the ball around trying to find a way through, but some decent pressing from Barry and Gueye forces Tottenham back into their own half.

A nice one-two between Walker and Eriksen almost frees up the former to get on the end of the ball in the box, but Jagielka is there to cut out the move.

SAVE! Vorm denies Deulofeu! Everton should be celebrating after a poor back pass from Spurs. The Spaniard latches onto the ball and he's one on one with the keeper, but his short towards the near post is stopped by Vorm's feet.

Ronald Koeman will be the happier manager of the two as his side enter the half-time break 1-0 up. Ross Barkley was the man to put the Toffees ahead in the fifth minute and he has been heavily involved in his team's attack in the first half. Tottenham have displayed some sharp passing, but they have struggled to break through Everton's shape. Harry Kane is isolated up front at the moment, so they may need to change their approach in order to get back in the game. We'll return for the second half shortly!

RESTART! Tottenham get us back underway for the second half! Can they get back into this game or is Koeman destined for an opening-day win? Let's find out!

Tottenham have bolted out the gates as they look to find an equaliser. The ball is played down the left-hand side and eventually finds Kane, who crosses into the box, but a block sends the ball out for a goal kick.

Barkley leads a counter-attack after snatching a loose pass. He sends the ball to Deulofeu, who charges past Alderweireld, but he's cut out by Dier's tackle, which forces a corner.

Gueye tries to make a goalscoring impact in his first league game at Everton by drilling a shot towards goal after a third corner for Everton, but his attempt is blocked.

A comfortable stop from Vorm. The keeper is called into action when Deulofeu moves into space on the edge of the area. He unleashes a shot, but Vorm makes a save.

TOTTENHAM SUB: Second change of the day from Spurs and it's Dier who makes way for summer signing Janssen. Taking off a defensive midfielder and replacing him with a striker suggests that Spurs will switch to a 4-4-2 formation.

OVER THE BAR! Janssen almost makes an instant impact off the bench! After a decent first touch, he turns cleanly before crossing the ball to Alli, who is situation on the edge of the area. The England international goes for glory, but his attempt drifts over the bar.

Everton go on the break and the ball ends up at Mirallas's feet. The Belgian looks up and fires the ball towards the net, but Vorm comfortably saves.

Spurs are back in it! Walker is inch perfect with his cross into the box. Lamela gets on the end of it and heads it past Stekelenburg and into the far corner. Game on!

Tottenham's tails are up now and it's Rose this time who delivers a cross into the area, but Stekelenburg comes off his line to collect the ball from the air.

Vital tackle from Walker! Mirallas was almost through on goal as he aimed towards the box, but Walker matched him for pace and well-timed his tackle to thwart the attack.

EVERTON SUB: Koeman makes his first change of the match as Deulofeu, who has looked busy this afternoon, makes way for Kone.

As expected, Tottenham are on the front foot, putting pressure on Everton's defence. At the moment, the Merseyside outfit are standing firm. They still have pace on the break.

CHANCE! Funes Mori tries to become an unlikely scorer as he unleashes a long-range effort, which just grazes past the far post.

An opportunity for Everton here as they are awarded a free kick on the left-hand side of Tottenham's half. Walker gives away the set piece following a foul on Funes Mori.

It's a disappointing free kick as it fails to beat the first man. Everton get a throw from Walker's clearance and it's a wasted effort from Barkley as he sends the ball over the bar.

EVERTON SUB: A second substitution for Everton as Lennon comes on for Mirallas.

CHANCE! Close from Walker! The full-back produces a cross-shot and the ball almost falls inside the near post, but Stekelenburg makes a stop.

SAVE! What a stop from Stekelenburg! Janssen has the ball at his feet and he's six yards away from sending it into the back of the net, but Stekelenburg gets a hand to it before its cleared.

Good effort from Eriksen, but it goes over the bar! Barry concedes a free kick after bringing down Rose. Eriksen takes the set piece, but his attempt misses the target.

EVERTON SUB: It's the end of Barry's afternoon. The midfielder makes way for Cleverley.

Everton go on the counter after Alli sends a sloppy pass towards Lamela, but Barkley's cross fall to find Lennon at the far post.

Both are searching for a winner, but we're running out of time! Three minutes are added on by the fourth official.

Spurs launch a long ball, with Janssen hoping to get on the end of it, but Stekelenburg comes off his line to grab it.

Everton and Tottenham take a share of the spoils this afternoon as they play out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Ross Barkley put Ronald Koeman's side ahead in the fifth minute from a free kick, but Erik Lamela managed to find an equaliser on the hour mark. There was an injury concern for Spurs as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris left the pitch in the 35th minute, but the problem is not yet known. Right, that's all from us, but stick with Sports Mole for all the latest news and results from the opening Premier League weekend. Until next time, goodbye!