It seems at first glance that the pivotal weekend in the Merseyside battle to get into the top four has just passed.
And given what happened, you have to say it’s advantage Liverpool.
They are on a great run while you always had the feeling Everton’s own superb sequence of results would come to an end at some time.
The fact that they were so short of players at Fulham shows how much the season could be catching up with them and also suggests they’re not really getting the luck or run of the ball Liverpool are enjoying at the moment.
If that game at Craven Cottage was six weeks ago, you feel Everton would have won it, even with their awful record there.
Now things aren’t going their way – they’re going Liverpool’s. And yet.
I get the feeling all that could change again and that’s why I think David Moyes is dead right to insist his team can still break into that elite top bracket.
For starters, it can easily all swing back in Everton’s favour this weekend.
Just for a change, they won’t have the pressure of playing catch-up and they can shift it on to Liverpool instead by beating West Ham.
For Liverpool, going to the leaders away from home is always a tough ask, especially given their recent record.
You get the feeling a draw there would be a result they would take now.
But beyond this week comes the indication that Liverpool still have it all to do to keep Everton at bay.
Doing that at Anfield won’t be easy in the derby – but after that comes the massive triple header against Arsenal.
That period will be defining because it’s the time Liverpool really have to deliver results, rather than just breeze through the bunch of undoubtedly easier fixtures they’ve had over the past month.
And at the same time, whatever Liverpool do, Moyes has to stick to his belief that it’s what his side achieves that will determine their campaign.
And that’s why it’s vital he rallies round his troops and reminds them how they got in this situation in the first place.
Moyes can’t change his team at the moment given the injury situation so he has to look at the men he has got and get them up again following a hard week.
And although he knows that seven days don’t decide a season and it’s how he utilises this coming week that will be key to them engineering another resurgence.
This is a rare week in which Everton have no midweek games – the perfect time for a couple of days off.
Get them refreshed, get them rested and, most importantly, wrap them in cotton wool before the injury situation gets worse. It will make all the difference.
Then I reckon they will be ready to go on another run and stay well in contention in that race for fourth place.
Over the past weekend, Liverpool took a significant step towards it – but that doesn’t make next week’s derby any less intriguing.
It’s still set to go to the wire.
And given what happened, you have to say it’s advantage Liverpool.
They are on a great run while you always had the feeling Everton’s own superb sequence of results would come to an end at some time.
The fact that they were so short of players at Fulham shows how much the season could be catching up with them and also suggests they’re not really getting the luck or run of the ball Liverpool are enjoying at the moment.
If that game at Craven Cottage was six weeks ago, you feel Everton would have won it, even with their awful record there.
Now things aren’t going their way – they’re going Liverpool’s. And yet.
I get the feeling all that could change again and that’s why I think David Moyes is dead right to insist his team can still break into that elite top bracket.
For starters, it can easily all swing back in Everton’s favour this weekend.
Just for a change, they won’t have the pressure of playing catch-up and they can shift it on to Liverpool instead by beating West Ham.
For Liverpool, going to the leaders away from home is always a tough ask, especially given their recent record.
You get the feeling a draw there would be a result they would take now.
But beyond this week comes the indication that Liverpool still have it all to do to keep Everton at bay.
Doing that at Anfield won’t be easy in the derby – but after that comes the massive triple header against Arsenal.
That period will be defining because it’s the time Liverpool really have to deliver results, rather than just breeze through the bunch of undoubtedly easier fixtures they’ve had over the past month.
And at the same time, whatever Liverpool do, Moyes has to stick to his belief that it’s what his side achieves that will determine their campaign.
And that’s why it’s vital he rallies round his troops and reminds them how they got in this situation in the first place.
Moyes can’t change his team at the moment given the injury situation so he has to look at the men he has got and get them up again following a hard week.
And although he knows that seven days don’t decide a season and it’s how he utilises this coming week that will be key to them engineering another resurgence.
This is a rare week in which Everton have no midweek games – the perfect time for a couple of days off.
Get them refreshed, get them rested and, most importantly, wrap them in cotton wool before the injury situation gets worse. It will make all the difference.
Then I reckon they will be ready to go on another run and stay well in contention in that race for fourth place.
Over the past weekend, Liverpool took a significant step towards it – but that doesn’t make next week’s derby any less intriguing.
It’s still set to go to the wire.
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