Everton's strong record against relegation candidates should save them from Premier League relegation

Everton’s win over Burnley was a much-needed win over Burnley and it added to their already strong record against the bottom seven teams which should help them avoid the drop.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first half goal was enough to edge out Vincent Kompany’s side as they moved four points clear of Luton Town in 18th place. Burnley and Sheffield United look to be cut adrift being seven and 10 points off safety, respectively but Everton still run the risk of being relegated with Luton (25) Nottingham Forest (25) and Brentford (29) all pushing for safety. Crystal Palace are just one point ahead of Everton to round off the bottom seven and Everton sit second in a ‘mini-table’ consisting of all the those teams.

From the eight games that the Toffees have played against their rivals, they’ve won five, drawn two and lost just once - with their sole loss being a nightmare defeat at Goodison Park against Luton. They’ve collected 17 of their 29 points against these sides (a figure that would be higher given their points deduction) and it is likely to be the defining factor in avoiding the drop.

There’s no prizes for guessing who has struggled within this group of teams; Nottingham Forest have the least amount of wins (1) and Crystal Palace have the joint most wins with Everton (5) but it is Dyche’s side who boast the least defeats (1) and it has ensured their favourable position compared to those around them. Of course, without the points deduction, they would clear of such relegation worries.

In terms of the rest of the season, they have four games against the bottom seven which will likely be decisive; they face Nottingham Forest (April 21) and Brentford (April 27) at home before travelling to Kenilworth Road to face Luton (May 3) before then taking on bottom of the table Sheffield United on May 11. With games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal outside of that, those games take on increased importance and if they can continue their strong run of form against the sides around them, then they should avoid the drop for the third season in a row.