Neck and Neck in the 4th Place Race
After a dismal Uefa Cup performance on Thursday, Everton answered their critics by travelling to the Stadium of Light and leaving with all three points. The win was undoubtedly crucial after Liverpool had thrown down the gauntlet on Saturday, comfortably beating Newcastle 3-0. So with the pair separated by goal difference alone, who will come first in the fourth place race?
The remaining nine games
Liverpool Everton
Reading (H) Fulham (A)
Man Utd (A) West Ham (H)
Everton (H) Liverpool (A)
Arsenal (A) Derby (H)
Blackburn (H) Birmingham (A)
Fulham (A) Chelsea (H)
Birmingham (A) Aston Villa (H)
Man City (H) Arsenal (A)
Tottenham (A) Newcastle (H)
Should history repeat itself and these nine ties end in the same results as they did earlier on in the season then Everton would earn 13 points compared to Liverpool who would scrape 11 (and this is after the Reds ‘enjoying’ another 3 points on derby day!)
However you would expect Liverpool to convert the draw they produced against Birmingham into three points (although you’d expect them to cruise to victory the first time round). You’d also be confident they could give Reading a right royal seeing to at Anfield on Saturday.
But I’d mark Everton down for wins against Fulham, West Ham, Derby (where they also might be able to make up some goal difference ground), Birmingham and Newcastle. There’s 15 points already compared to Liverpool’s 9 for wins against Reading, Fulham and Birmingham; the other fixtures are a little less certain.
Moyes has cleverly labelled himself and Everton as underdogs and to a large degree, not many eyebrows will be raised should they fail to clinch fourth place - this is definitely not the case if Liverpool fall short of the mark. But judging by the remaining fixtures, I’d say Everton are actually in the driving seat. Because as crunch time comes, it may be a case of rolling up your sleeves and winning ugly. And we all know Everton can do that.
Tags: Champions League, Everton, Four Place, Liverpool, Premier League
