The Wearsiders haven’t beaten Everton for 11 years with their last win at Goodison coming way back in November 1996.

And Sunderland’s form this season has been less than threatening, the Black Cats having taken only nine points from nine games and scored just six times.

Steven Fletcher, a £14million summer signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers, has scored five of them, and remains the only Sunderland player to score in the Premier League this season with Newcastle United’s Demba Ba, a scorer of an own goal in last month’s Tyne-Wear derby, Sunderland’s top and indeed only goalscorer in October.

Moyes, though, has a poor record against Black Cats manager Martin O’Neill, having won just once in 11 league meetings, although that was the most recent clash, a resounding 4-0 triumph for Everton at Goodison on Easter Monday.

Sunderland will also take heart from the fact their main tormenter, Tim Cahill, departed for the MLS in the summer.

Helping to fill the breach left by the Australian is Steven Naismith, a free signing in the summer having left crisis club Rangers.

Naismith has become increasingly involved in recent weeks, a danger from the bench against both Fulham and Queens Park Rangers and a starter in the derby draw against Liverpool.

His strike against the Anfield outfit was his first competitive goal for Everton and came almost a year to the day after he suffered the second cruciate knee ligament injury of his career.

Naismith is still being nursed back to full match fitness at Goodison, and Moyes says: “I do think the goal was important because Steven is coming back from a cruciate injury. He had a first cruciate earlier in his career at Glasgow Rangers.

“I spoke to Walter Smith at the time and he said it took him a while to come back. Now he has had his second cruciate so we’re still waiting on him a little but he did well in the game (against Liverpool), scored his goal and it will give him that extra confidence.

“He will be a good, steady Everton player over time.”

Naismith averaged a goal every three games at Rangers and struck up a fruitful partnership with Nikica Jelavic during the Croatia international’s times at Ibrox.

And Moyes adds: “He is a forward player who is used to playing in that area and scoring goals. We’ve tried to add more goals into our team with the players we’ve signed.

“We’ve got different players who offer us different options.

“When you have Leon Osman, Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith there will be a style you have to play with those players.

“So, we’ve got that and we’re able to use them but we also have Nikica Jelavic and Marouane Fellaini who give us something different as well. That gives us variation in our play.”