Everton are set to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. The Toffees sit 19th in the Premier League table with 28 points, two points adrift of safety. With five games to go, EFC need to win the game in order to stand a chance to survive the relegation battle.
Leicester City find themselves in a similar predicament to Everton, sitting 18th in the league table with 29 points. This makes the Leicester vs Everton tie a potential relegation six pointer. The Merseysiders have lost two relegation six pointers earlier this season, losing 2-0 to West Ham when the Hammers were 19th in the table and losing 2-1 to Southampton.
Everton can jump out of relegation zone with a win against Leicester City
The Premier League match day 34 has seen eight games being played over the weekend. Results have gone in Everton’s favour until now. Everton’s direct relegation rivals Nottingham Forest traveled to Brentford. Nottingham took the lead in the first half and it took a herculean comeback from Brentford as they scored the winner in stoppage time to snatch points from Nottingham.
The loss has left Forest in 17th place with 30 points, still two points ahead of Everton before their trip to Leicester. The Toffees’ other direct relegation rival Leeds United faced AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth spent significant time in the drop zone but four wins in last five games has seen them jump out of the bottom five. The Cherries put four past Illan Meslier as Bournemouth emerged as victors over Leeds.
The 4-1 loss has left Leeds without gaining any point on match day 34, as they sit 16th with 30 points. The results have played out heavily in favour of the Toffees and a win against Leicester City will help EFC jump out of the drop zone.
A win against Leicester will not only create distance between them and the Foxes but also help them jump out of the relegation zone, at least for now. A win will see Everton jump to 16th place, pushing Nottingham into the drop zone.
Sean Dyche’s men must not leave any stone unturned in 90 minutes to get a win. The Toffees have a difficult run of fixtures as they face Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City up next, hence a win against Leicester will keep Everton’s hopes alive. Any points dropped today would be a huge blow in the Toffees’ hopes of securing Premier League football for next season.
Will EFC survive the relegation battle?