We won't get caught again, says Stubbs

Alan Stubbs insists Everton have learned from their UEFA Cup shock at the hands of Metalist Kharkiv and will not be caught out again when the two sides meet for tonight's second leg in the Ukraine.

Metalist stunned David Moyes's side by recovering from one goal and one man down to snatch a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park a fortnight ago, eventually finishing with nine players in a game which saw Andrew Johnson miss two penalties.

Johnson should be given an opportunity to atone for his errors after recovering from a groin injury. He joined in a light training session last night, while other fitness doubts Nuno Valente and Leon Osman also made the trip to eastern Europe.

Stubbs missed the first leg and, two days short of his 36th birthday, the central defender will be playing his first European game for his boyhood team despite spending five-and-a-half years at Goodison.

He is determined to help them into the group stages by avoiding another upset at the hands of opponents who will be more familiar second time around.

Stubbs said: "We've been working on them and I'm still pretty confident we will get a result. We know more about them now and their strengths and weaknesses.

"I never thought that they were going to score against us in the first game, only if we made a mistake. Our nervousness cost us, more than anything else.

"It's going to be a tough game, we know that. But when you look at the game at home, we did not play well. But we should still have come away with a 3-0 win and we should take confidence from that."

Stubbs believes Spanish playmaker Mikel Arteta will be a key man against a Metalist side lying fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Arteta pulled the strings in Sunday's 2-0 win over Middlesbrough after a three-match absence through injury and Stubbs said: "You always miss class and Mikel is a class player. When he's on his form, he makes us tick. I think he's going to be very important for us."

Stubbs, who has helped Everton keep two clean sheets since his return from injury and illness, is confident they are starting to find their form after an indifferent start to the season.

He said: 'The most important thing is that the team have started winning again and beating Middlesbrough has set us up nicely for this one. We've been in a bit of lull recently but I think we're starting to get a little bit closer to what we are about.'