Quote from: Swordsoffreedom on Today at 05:56:33 PM

Quote from: temple on Today at 04:58:53 PM

Quote from: lizarder on January 17, 2024, 07:36:04 PM

Quote from: temple on January 17, 2024, 05:39:26 PM

I think they most importantly need to win the games they will play against the other teams that are threatened to end their season in the relegation zone. Of course it is a nice to have if they can beat other teams from the upper half of the table, but the most important points are those against their competitors from the lower half of the table.

Within the last 7 games of the season their opponents are Burnley, Nottingham, Brentford, Luton Town and Sheffield. That's when the season will be most important for Everton.

The team you mentioned also has the desire to win the match and they also don't want to be in the relegation zone so everyone will play for a win or at least a draw. Everton should be able to get out of the zone more easily, but their inconsistent performance means everything can change. Nottingham and Brentford are not easy to beat because they also have to win if they don't want to be in the relegation zone so they will try the same thing as Everton.

If can't win in all the remaining matches then a draw is enough, but it's also important to get several wins to avoid unforeseen possibilities. Being above one level in the relegation zone is not an easy thing because if they want to be safe they have to be in 14th or 15th position in the final standings.

None of the teams is easy to beat and that is why we have seen so many surprises so far. But if somebody asked me whether I think that the most important games for Everton are those against the teams from the upper half of the table or the games against the teams from the lower half of the table, my instant answer would be that they have to win the games against the teams from the lower half of the table of course. Everton can afford to lose against Manchester City and Liverpool, but they can't afford to lose against Luton Town, Brentford and co. Those games are absolutely critical and every single one of those games must be considered a final like in a cup.

It will be difficult to predict which teams will go into the relegation zone. Because there is still a long journey ahead. Each team will play about 18 more matches. So Burnley and Luton Town have the ability to get out of the relegation zone if the performance is somewhat stable. But it cannot be said with certainty whether it will stabilize the performance of the teams.

However, the performance of the Everton team is quite good this season. Despite losing 10 points, they are still out of the relegation zone. And I think at the end of the season we will see this team maybe 12th/13th. But I am not satisfied with Sheffield United's performance. It will be very difficult for this team to get out of the relegation zone. Because their defense is too weak.

Yes, there is still a long way to go and everything can still happen and be improved so as not to enter the relegation zone. But for Everton, in my opinion, he is much better than Burnley, Luton Town and also Sheffield United. The reason is that in 21 matches, Everton won 8 wins, which means Everton's match results were better than Burnley, Luton Town and also Sheffield United.
And there is still a possibility that Everton will be in 12/13 position until the end of the season, but it all depends on Sean Dyche whether he will try to improve his team's shortcomings. And for Sheffield United I also think the same, most likely they will have difficulty not being in the relegation zone because out of 20 matches they were only able to score 2 wins.