Everton’s Premier League relegation battle assessed after Leicester City draw

A nervy final month of the Premier League season lies in wait for the clubs at the wrong end of the table.
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Everton’s Premier League fate remains out of their own hands despite putting in an improved display in Monday night’s draw with fellow strugglers Leicester City.

Sean Dyche’s side earned a point from their visit to the King Power Stadium after a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty and an Alex Iwobi equaliser came either side of goals from City duo Calgary Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy. However, the Toffees were also grateful for a penalty save from keeper Jordan Pickford as the England number one denied Three Lions team-mate James Maddison from 12 yards.

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The result has left Sean Dyche’s side in the relegation zone as the season enters its final month but crucially it also keeps Leicester within touching distance. Indeed, as many as six clubs can be viewed as realistically in trouble and that includes Southampton, who are teetering on the brink of relegation following their defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

Everton manager Sean Dyche last night.Everton manager Sean Dyche last night.
Everton manager Sean Dyche last night.

With just four games remaining, the Saints are six points shy of safety and look near certainties to drop into the Championship over the coming fortnight. But just one point separates Everton, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Leicester, who all have four games left in their fixture list before the final whistle is blown on the season. Despite his side remaining deep in trouble, Toffees boss Dyche saw the positives in the display at the King Power Stadium and urged his side to take the same mentality into a challenging quartet of fixtures that lies in wait before the end of the campaign.

He told Sky Sports: “It remains just the same, I didn’t come here for a walk in the park, trust me. I knew it was going to be a challenge, we are a point per game at the moment, it doesn’t seem like a massive shift at the moment but I think they had five points in the previous 12 games so there has been a shift.

“The players have put in a shift, but it’s also the quality. The only gripe tonight is the two soft goals from our point of view - but the mentality, the physicality, that’s what we want from the team, we want them staying on the front foot and take every game on.”

Remaining fixtures

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20th Southampton: Nottingham Forest (A), Fulham (H), Brighton and Hove Albion (A), Liverpool (H) Current points: 24 Maximum possible points: 36 Possible finishes: 15th to 20th

19th Everton: Brighton and Hove Albion (A), Manchester City (H), Wolverhampton Wanderers (A), Bournemouth (H) Current points: 29 Maximum possible points: 41 Possible finishes: 11th to 20th

18th Nottingham Forest: Southampton (H), Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H), Crystal Palace (A) Current points: 30 Maximum possible points: 42 Possible finishes: 11th to 20th

17th Leeds United: Manchester City (A), Newcastle United (H), West Ham United (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H) Current points: 30 Maximum possible points: 42 Possible finishes: 11th to 20th

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16th Leicester City: Fulham (A), Liverpool (H), Newcastle United (A), West Ham United (H) Current points: 30 Maximum possible points: 42 Possible finishes: 11th to 20th

15th West Ham United: Manchester City (A), Manchester United (H), Brentford (A), Leeds United (H), Leicester City (A) Current points: 34 Maximum possible points: 49 Possible finishes: 10th to 20th