Declan Walsh

Tue 19 April 2022 17:10, UK

Ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen predicts Everton will continue their winning ways when they welcome Leicester City to Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

Frank Lampard’s men took a major step towards safety last time out when they won against Manchester United while Burnley have dropped points in back-to-back matches against Norwich and West Ham.

Everton still have two matches to play against Leicester in the Premier League and the first comes as one of their games in hand on 20 April at Goodison.

And after a weekend off, Owen predicts the Toffees will run out as 1-0 winners over the Foxes.

“Everton had the weekend off, which will probably be a good thing,” said Owen on the BetVictor website. “Frank Lampard will have had some time on the training ground with the players, and I’d expect them to be sharp for this one. The little break should do the likes of Calvert-Lewin, who is not long back from injury, some good.

“Brendan Rodgers was very disappointed to see his side lose against Newcastle. They had plenty of the ball, but they didn’t create enough. They conceded a couple of preventable goals, no wonder he was frustrated.

“I’m leaning towards Everton. They have a lot more to play for than Leicester and need every point they can get at Goodison. 1-0.”

Huge match

If we win this, are we safe?

Burnley have essentially dug their own grave by sacking Sean Dyche while their loss at Norwich shows they’re by no means in a good position to launch a survival bid.

As it stands, we’re three points clear of them with a game in hand.

If we win against Leicester and move six points clear of the bottom three, we could start to get it in our heads that we’re safe.

Of course, that’s a dangerous thought to have because a Burnley resurgence could still happen and Lampard’s men still have some tough games to play.

But a six-point gap at this stage of the season would be a lot to overcome for one of the three very bad teams below the Blues.

It’s amazing we’re not in the relegation zone as it stands, to be honest, and it just shows how bad that current bottom three is.

We really hope Owen is right. Even the scrappiest of 1-0 wins will suffice – as long as it is a win.

Drawing wouldn’t be the end of the world but why have one point when you can have three?

Come on you Blues.

In other Everton news, Richard Keys has dropped a Sam Allardyce-to-Burnley shout and discussed Everton’s relegation chances.

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