With 10 games to go Everton and Burnley both need heroes to emerge if they are to remain in the Premier League.
Goals have been hard to come by over recent months - but each side has a striker with the heavy hopes of their supporters weighing on their shoulders. For the Blues, much has been made of the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, while Wout Weghorst was Burnley’s big-name January signing.
Here, we take a look at how each has fared in recent weeks as the two prepare to face each other in a Turf Moor battle that will define the relegation run-in.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin returned to action in January after missing 14 games with injury. He had started the campaign with three goals in his first three matches before being sidelined until the new year with a broken toe and a muscle injury.
Further issues have prevented him from gathering momentum since he came back in January. He has played in eight of the last 11 games and has struggled for form - failing to add to those three goals. His 16 strikes from last year have been sorely missed but the impact he is capable of having is in no doubt. It was Calvert-Lewin who gathered the ball and then ret urned it to Alex Iwobi for the crucial stoppage time winner against Newcastle before the international break.
That assist in one of the biggest goals of Everton’s season so far offered a glimpse of what the 25-year-old can provide for a stuttering attack that had gone more than seven hours without scoring at the time. It is hard to see how Everton stay up unless he can improve on the three goals and an assist he has produced from 838 minutes this season.
Despite only joining in January, Wout Weghorst has played just six minutes fewer than Calvert-Lewin. In that time, the powerful striker has provided just one goal and two assists across 10 matches. His goal - and one of his assists - came in a victory at Brighton that sparked suggestions Burnley were about to use their games in hand to move clear of the relegation zone. Instead, they have scored just two goals in the following six games - repeatedly missing opportunities to leapfrog Everton in the process.
Signed from Wolfsburg to replace another towering striker, Chris Wood, the Dutch international was heralded by some as the purchase of the transfer window. But since that Brighton match his impact has been limited - his other assist having come in an earlier 1-1 draw with Man Utd.
With both strikers heading into the six-pointer at Turf Moor with the hopes of an increasingly anxious fanbase resting on them, the match could provide a platform for either to grab a big goal and boost their confidence at a crucial time for their clubs. And 6ft 6in Weghorst may feel his chances have just improved with Michael Keane now suspended following his red card against West Ham.
