Everton hosts Chelsea tomorrow. Everton drew at Chelsea earlier this season.
I turned away from the Burnley-Watford game at 80' so I was of course dismayed - but Burnley is the gazelle that's sprinted out of the camera frame, and Leeds are the one bumbling around the water hole with the broken leg.
Everton are five points down on both Leeds and Burnley and that looks bad, but they have two games in hand:
Everton: vs. Chelsea, @Leicester, @Watford, vs. Brentford, vs. Palace, @Arsenal
Leeds: @Arsenal, vs. Chelsea, vs. Brighton, @Brentford
Burnley: vs. Villa, @Spurs, @Villa, vs. Newcastle
After the Chelsea game, Everton still have a game in hand and the easiest schedule. Leeds have the hardest.
I'm of course clutching at hope but I think the Toffees stay up. I think Lampard has learned what he has and he's setting them up better. The X factor is that Mina is back. He's the most important player IMO - I can't find the up to date numbers but Everton were averaging nearly a point a game more, and giving up almost a goal less a game, when he's in the side. Of course he's always hurt, but when he's at full strength he dominates and is a terror on set pieces too. Keane, Godfrey, and Holgate have been different flavors of terrible this season so this is the most important player returning from injury. (DCL, my former binky, no longer looks interested even when he does play between muscle pulls).
Mykolenko, Gordon, and (believe it or not) Iwobi have been excellent. Gray, Allan, and Doucoure are below their early season form, but we've had a couple of MOTM level performances from the corpse of Fabian Delph, of all people. Most importantly Lampard has finally figured out that he can't leave just two in midfield or we'll get killed.
Everton and Leeds have three common opponents: Chelsea, Arsenal, and Brentford. If Everton can get 5 or more points from 9 from LEI(A), WAT(A), and LEI(H) than Leeds get from TOT(H), then it's at worst even heading into the three common games.
I think they will.
