Everton: Phil Jagielka shares ‘crazy’ relegation prediction after Sean Dyche claim
Phil Jagielka has predicted Everton to stay up if they can take just two wins from their remaining eight games, as he insists that is what Sean Dyche will be targeting.
Given how close the clubs at the bottom of the table are, Jagielka says the fixtures against Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Luton and Sheffield United will be intense.
With the Toffees on a 13-game winless run, relegation is beginning to look like a threat after teams below them picked up points, although the former Everton player insisted he is hopeful they can stay up.
Speaking to the BBC Football Daily podcast [2 April], Jagielka shared: “It’s literally like a mini-league. Whoever takes the most points out of the games when they play each other is going to stay up, but the atmosphere and the pressure in those games will be crazy.
“Unfortunately they’ve still got that streak of not winning in 13, but I think other than that tonight has been very positive.
“Forest winning isn’t ideal, but it’s not absolutely horrendous, so a positive is that this was always going to be the make-or-break part of the season.
“They’re possibly just two wins away from being safe, and I’m sure that’s the way Sean Dyche will be looking at it. Hopefully, that’s what we all want.”
Relegation on the cards at Everton amid tense battle
As Jagielka highlighted, the games against fellow struggling teams towards the bottom of the league will be crucial, and while fans may look to those as winnable games, it has to be considered that their opponents will think the same.
Just five points separate Luton in 18th from Brentford in 15th, with any of those four teams capable of staying up and condemning another to relegation. After Forest beat Fulham, they have started to pile the pressure on Everton.
With another PSR verdict looming and a possible second points deduction at Goodison Park, the teams down the bottom will be keeping a close eye on the situation which could make the difference in the relegation battle.
Forest have already clawed back their four-point deduction with a draw against Crystal Palace and a win against Fulham, leaving Everton in an uncertain situation with regard to their own deduction and lack of points gained in recent weeks.
In other Everton news, Alan Brazil exploded at Newcastle defender Paul Dummett.
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