After toying with the prospect of dropping into the bottom three for some time, Everton finally fell into the relegation zone last weekend — as managerless Burnley carried on their fine post-Sean Dyche form with a narrow 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, while the Toffees suffered a 2-0 defeat against Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
It never looked likely that the Clarets would overtake Everton, as they trailed Frank Lampard’s men by four points when they made the unpopular decision to sack Dyche after 10 years of service at Turf Moor. But for one reason or another, it has proved to be an inspiring move — as Burnley picked up a point at West Ham before beating both Southampton and Wolves.
The Lancashire outfit are now two points clear of Everton, who do have a game in hand. However, given the Toffees’ form since November, it is no guarantee that they will pick up any points from that spare match — meaning the betting exchange is firmly backing them to suffer their first relegation from the Premier League.
It’s going to be a tough final month for Lampard, who has just six games to save Everton and perhaps his managerial career. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the Goodison Park outfit’s run-in between now and the end of the season.
Chelsea (H)
Up next for Everton in their pursuit of safety is none other than Lampard’s beloved Chelsea at Goodison Park. The good news for Everton fans is that their home form has been much better than on the road, with just one defeat in last five, while Chelsea haven’t been that convincing recently.
The Blues have to travel to Manchester United on Thursday night as well, something which Everton could take advantage of as they have a full week to recover after last weekend’s Merseyside Derby.
Leicester City (A)
Worryingly, Everton haven’t won an away match in the Premier League since the 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in August and have suffered defeat in all of their last seven games on the road.
That run surely has to come to an end at some stage, but leaving the King Power Stadium with all three points would be a surprise result — as Leicester City have lost just once at home since the turn of the new year, a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Watford (A)
Perhaps a better chance to put an end to that terrible away run is the trip to Vicarage Road on May 11th. Watford are all but relegated, as it’s extremely unlikely Roy Hodgson’s men will make up the nine-point deficit in their final five games.
The Hornets have a terrible record at home as well, going without a win in Hertfordshire since they stunned Manchester United with a 4-1 victory back in November — it’s currently a run of 10-straight losses at Vicarage Road.
Brentford (H)
Brentford are starting to hit a fine run of form at the wrong time for Everton. Thomas Frank’s men are currently four Premier League games unbeaten, getting the better of Chelsea, West Ham and Watford before picking up a point at home to Spurs last weekend.
Of course, they face Manchester United and Southampton before the trip to Goodison — which could take the sting out of the Bees’ confidence, while Everton did thrash them 4-1 when they meet in the FA Cup for Lampard’s first game in charge. It will be interesting to see if that game is still in the mind of both managers.
Crystal Palace (H)
At this point in the season, Everton’s fate could already be sealed. But if it’s not, then the whole of the blue half of Merseyside will need to get behind their team. Crystal Palace will be hoping to secure mathematical safety by this point of the season, as they currently hold an eight-point advantage over Everton.
However, if Patrick Viera’s men have rebooked their place in next year’s campaign, then they could take their foot off the gas a tad ahead of this game. We’ll just have to wait and see!
Arsenal (A)
With the fight for the final Champions League spot looking like it is going to go down to wire between Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and possibly Manchester United, should Ralf Rangnick’s side find a bit of form and momentum, Lampard will not want to go to the Emirates needing a win over the Gunners.
Arsenal can be a bit unpredictable, as they proved with that run of three straight defeats against Palace, Brighton and Southampton. So, if push came to shove and Everton really needed a victory in north London to stay up, we certainly wouldn’t put it past them!