Sky Sports studio in stitches over Everton v Nottingham Forest observation

Everton and Nottingham Forest will be playing a game of letting each other have possession at Goodison Park on Sunday, according to Michael Dawson.

Former Forest defender Dawson, speaking on Sky Sports News [29 December, 12:41], made a remark that the contest will descend into "you have the ball, we'll have the ball", due to a statistic that emerged ahead of kick-off.

The Toffees (38 percent) and Forest (40 percent) have the Premier League's lowest average possession stats per game this season.

"This is going to be interesting today... you have the ball, we'll have the ball," Dawson sarcastically responded to the revelation, causing fits of laughter from the other pundits in the Sky Sports studio.

Everton making statement with recent results

Fourth-placed Nottingham Forest are currently flying under Nuno and present one of several difficult fixtures Dyche and Everton have had to navigate.

And despite not winning in their last three - drawing each contest - those 270 minutes of football have thrown up the challenge of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Only Chelsea was on home soil. Only one goal conceded and defeat avoided.

This is far more like the Dyche unit we saw towards the latter stage of last season which transpired to comfortably steer clear of relegation threat, and far less like the shambolic side that began this campaign.

It would have been an even tougher schedule had the Merseyside derby not fallen victim to adverse weather conditions on 7 December, and after Forest comes the threat of a buoyant Bournemouth side who came back from two goals down to win late on at Goodison earlier this term.

Everton certainly have that resilience and a capability to shut up shop that many sides battling relegation do not have. And that is why Dyche remaining in post under The Friedkin Group is the sensible and stable option until the move to Bramley-Moore Dock.

In other Everton news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be set for a January exit for a Premier League rival.

For more Everton news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.