Matthew Shaw

Mon 20 March 2023 16:10, UK

Sam Matterface has labelled the Everton draw with Chelsea on Saturday 18 March as “seismic” live on talkSPORT when reviewing the weekend action.

In what looks like one of the closest relegation battles in years as Ellis Simms’ last-minute equaliser earned the Toffees a huge point at Stamford Bridge in the 2-2 draw comeback draw with Chelsea to move the Toffees two points away from danger.

Southampton remarkably also provided a come-back of their own to share the spoils clawing a 3-3 draw against under-pressure Tottenham Hotspur, with Leeds winning at Wolves.

Speaking live on talkSPORT [20 March, 12:23], Matterface singled out the Toffees and Southampton for their draws against the big London outfits over the weekend.

“A heavyweight battle at the bottom for relegation,” he said.

“Everton and Southampton picking up points at the weekend, very late goals for Everton and Southampton. Everton’s last-minute goal from Ellis Simms against Chelsea, incredibly important and seismic in the race to stay in the league.”

Battle.

With the Premier League close to entering its final quarter of the season four points separate the bottom nine teams in the English top flight.

This prompted Crystal Palace to the dismissal of former manager Patrick Vieira just last week despite the Eagles lying in 12th place in the standings.

The run-in promises to be the most interesting in recent times with the unpredictability of results from the bottom-end teams. Next up for Everton will be Tottenham Hotspur after the international break in a match that will be again crucial for Sean Dyche’s side.

It may well be May however, when the Toffees’ survival hopes get decided once again if the table remains as tight as it is with three out of the five fixtures against teams in the bottom four placings.

Everton will certainly need more of the same from Simms and those around him as they look to stay in the Premier League yet again, hopefully, with more ease this time around.