Everton captain Phil Jagielka has claimed that his side are not out of the race for the Champions League places despite their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday.
The Toffees' wait for bragging rights against their Merseyside rivals extended to 13 matches as goals from Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi fired the hosts to victory at Anfield, leaving Everton eight points adrift of the top four.
All but one of the teams above Everton in the table also have games in hand over Ronald Koeman's side, but Jagielka believes that victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday will keep their hopes alive.
"It was tough as it was before but we knew we could potentially put ourselves in there with the right result," he told reporters.
"I won't say we are out of it but the teams that are chasing for that are in a lot better position than us. All we can do is dust ourselves down and try to pick up as many wins as possible.
"They are tough two away games - the first has not gone to plan but hopefully the second one will."
Should Everton beat United then they would climb up to fifth in the Premier League table, above both the Red Devils and Arsenal.
Barney Corkhill
