Gary Neville predicts Everton ‘desperation’ before Premier League showdown v Leicester City
Gary Neville has predicted “desperation” among the relegation-threatened Premier League teams and believes the showdown between Everton and Leicester is “absolutely monumental”.
The Toffees arrive into the clash at the King Power Stadium (Monday, 1 May) on the back of six games without a win and a thoroughly disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle at Goodison Park.
After fellow relegation rivals Bournemouth fired themselves out of the relegation dogfight with a 4-1 victory against Leeds United (30 April), Neville predicted the pressure to ramp up a notch among teams such as Everton, who currently sit 19th in the Premier League on 28 points.
“I’m stunned. I’m absolutely stunned by what’s happened down at Bournemouth,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast [22:00].
“It’s an incredible performance, it’s going to mean that a club that is bigger on paper is going to go, and it makes it a really intriguing next three of four weeks at the bottom of the league, and there will be some real desperation down there.
“Everton, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham are still down there.
“That game tomorrow night on Monday Night Football, Leicester versus Everton, is absolutely monumental, it’s a huge game.
“The league title looks like it is going to go towards City, but at the bottom, you’re none the wiser.”
Big trouble
Everton are bang in trouble, but they have a chance to revive their survival hopes against Leicester City on Monday.
If Sean Dyche’s side turns up with the same lack of confidence and defensive naivety as they did against Newcastle, it could be a rinse and repeat against a Dean Smith side who have picked up in form over the last few weeks.
Even with the Goodison Park faithful roaring the Toffees on, they couldn’t muster anywhere near enough creativity to break down the Magpies’ defence, although Dominic Calvert-Lewin did look back to his vintage best up top.
If Everton are to navigate their way through this relegation battle successfully over the coming month, Calvert-Lewin will need to pop up with one or two timely strikes.
There simply aren’t enough goals elsewhere in the Toffees squad, and the pressure is well and truly on the Englishman’s shoulders to deliver the goods.