The hosts had lost each of their previous seven PL fixtures against top-six sides, yet they started on the front foot here, showing plenty of encouragement as Amadou Onana picked Douglas Luiz’s pocket and gave Emiliano Martínez an early scare.
However, after conceding from corners in each of their last three PL matches, it looked like Everton’s unwanted streak had been extended when Àlex Moreno fired home from the edge of the box following a short corner, only to be eventually denied by VAR for an offside in the build-up.
With momentum on their side, Villa came close to breaking the deadlock through Leon Bailey, who forced Jordan Pickford into a near-post save, but it was Everton who ended the half on top.
Martínez twice came to the visitors’ rescue on the brink of HT, first thwarting Dominic Calvert-Lewin when one-on-one before picking himself up to palm away James Garner’s drilled effort shortly after.
An evenly-matched contest resumed after the restart with John McGinn and Arnaut Danjuma each sending efforts narrowly wide for their respective sides.
There was evidently little to separate the sides as the hour mark ticked by, prompting both Sean Dyche and Unai Emery to make double changes, yet clear-cut chances were proving hard to come by in the second period as tempers began to flare.
A flurry of yellow cards added to a rousing finale in which McGinn and Jhon Durán came agonisingly close at one end before Abdoulaye Doucouré was denied a winner by the assistant’s flag at the death.
Despite a creditable point against high-flying Villa, a point does little to ease Everton’s relegation worries, with just a point separating them from the drop zone after a run of four PL games without victory.
Meanwhile, despite missing the chance to go level on points with leaders Liverpool, Emery’s side remain third in the league, having lost just twice in 21 competitive matches since defeat to Everton in the Carabao Cup back in September (W14, D5).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford (Everton)