Everton and Leicester City clash at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday a week after both clubs earned hugely important wins away from home.
Before the sacking of Sean Dyche at the start of the month, this was being touted as a potential relegation six-pointer, but Everton have since moved clear of both the bottom three and Leicester, who start the weekend just a place below them.
Match preview
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Many observers are now claiming that it is a battle between three clubs for the two other relegation spots alongside Southampton this season, after Everton's resurgence under the returning David Moyes.
The Toffees moved clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 win away at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, thanks to Iliman Ndiaye's first-half penalty, as Moyes secured as many away wins in one match than Dyche did in his previous 21.
That win saw Everton achieve a club Premier League first - winning when their only shot on target in the entire match came from the penalty spot, and Moyes was keen to stress that he believed the team did not play well, but defended resolutely to get over the line.
It also represents Everton's first set of back-to-back wins since April, after also beating Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier, while it was also the first time they have scored in successive league matches since October.
The win has moved Everton seven points clear of the bottom three, and they are as close to Manchester United in 12th as they are to the Foxes just one place below them.
Everton can now potentially move a whopping 10 points clear of the bottom three with a win here, combined with results going their way involving Ipswich Town and Wolves, but Leicester's last visit to Goodison did not end well for the hosts.
A 2-0 Leicester win ultimately could not contribute to the Foxes staying up in the 2022-23 season, as Everton avoided relegation ahead of them, but the visitors now have the chance to win back-to-back league matches at Goodison for the first time in their history.
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In general though, Leicester have a poor record against Everton, with that success in November 2022 being their only win across the last eight head-to-heads.
That win also came as part of the last time Leicester won consecutive top-flight matches, so that is something Leicester can rectify after their impressive win at Spurs last weekend, which ended a run of seven straight Premier League defeats.
Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy would have already been feeling the pressure, despite only being in the job just over two months, but with others around them frequently failing to pick up points, that potentially priceless win was enough to move out the drop zone, one point above Ipswich and Wolves.
Another victory on the road should extend that gap even more, while also dragging Everton back into the fight at the bottom.
However, form away from the King Power this season has been largely disappointing, with the win last weekend being the first time the Foxes picked up any points on the road since the start of November, when they drew at Ipswich, and only bottom-of-the-table Southampton have fewer across the season.
Team News
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Everton's win last weekend came at a cost, as it appears both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala are set for lengthy spells on the sidelines, and could have played their last games for the club.
That leaves Beto as Everton's only fit central striker, as Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti are both sidelined, and with Mangala set to be ruled out for the season with ACL damage, James Garner's return has been well-timed.
Moyes revealed last week that Dwight McNeil will need to see a specialist over potentially undergoing surgery on his ongoing knee injury, after already missing the last two months of action, but Everton are still yet to enter the market this month, with numbers dwindling by the week.
Van Nistelrooy appeared positive around the prospect of Mads Hermansen returning to the Leicester goal after six weeks out, so Jakub Stolarczyk's spell of deputising could come to an end here.
Wilfred Ndidi is also not far away from a return, after making big strides in his recovery by returning to training this week, but Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu remain out long term.
Leicester have made just one acquisition this month, and he got a brief debut last weekend, as Woyo Coulibaly came on as an injury-time substitute at Spurs, and helped get them over the line for three points.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Lindstrom, Gueye, Garner, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristensen; Winks, Soumare; Ayew, El Khannouss, Decordova-Reid; Vardy
We say: Everton 1-1 Leicester City
This will be a new test for Moyes, playing a team who they will have to break down, after facing three front-foot opponents so far, and this has been a challenge that this Everton side has failed to achieve time and time again this season.
Leicester have been given a lift from last week's win, and will feel more confident in taking something in a fixture that has produced the highest percentage of draws than any other in Premier League history that has been played at least 30 times (17 draws in 35).
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
