If you are lucky enough to be heading to Goodison on Saturday evening then savour it.
The move to the new stadium is still some way off but home games in L4 are getting fewer and fewer and, with them, the opportunity to experience the Grand Old Lady under the lights. So now feels as good a time as ever to remind supporters to take in that buzz of approaching the ground bathed in floodlights, the sights, the smells and then that feeling of stepping out from the concourse and into the stands with the pitch in front of you. And the atmosphere that follows, of course.
Everton Stadium is rising rapidly from Bramley-Moore Dock and the complex essentially looks like a football ground now. But there is still time to make memories on Goodison Road, which the club also appears to recognise considering its recent tunnel refurbishment in honour of the fans.
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The last time Leicester City visited was also under the lights, Richarlison grabbing a late equaliser to salvage a draw and keep the momentum going after the win over Manchester United days earlier appeared to offer a lifeline to the club's Premier League status. In fact, with Everton then travelling to face Brendan Rodgers' side a couple of weeks later and snatching that vital May win, this will be the least important of the three ties with the Foxes in this calendar year.
It is still important though. There are now just three games until the World Cup break and, while there will then be a couple more just before January, this week is the last opportunity for many to shape Frank Lampard's thoughts as he and those around him assess the opening months of the season. Many of the decisions about what needs to happen next, who may be sought, and who the club may be open to offers for, will have already been made. But there will be opportunities this week, particularly in the Carabao Cup tie at Bournemouth. Lampard is taking the trophy seriously and wants to win it. He also knows he has to take chances to reward hard work in training and view those players just outside the first team when they arise.
Explaining his plans, he said: "We have had a fairly regular starting line-up now which is a good thing for consistency and results, we have seen that from probably where we were last year, you can form relationships on the pitch. But at the same time the players who aren't in, their job then is to perform and train at a top level to change your mind, get them in and give them a chance, that is a massive thing and players must keep training at a high level. It's not easy that one but they have to do that otherwise their time stays out of the team so that's one we try and push. It's our duty, it's our job to support them, to show we are trying to improve them all the time and their job to show us they deserve to play."
This will be a key week for players, staff and supporters. The league games against Leicester and Bournemouth offer the opportunity to cement the view that this has been a period of real, tangible progress. The prospect of a cup run can not be ignored either. A bad week and the table has the potential to take on a fearsome veneer going into the World Cup break. If that were to happen then perspective will be needed, as ever. Life at Everton in recent years has not always been as rosy as so many ex-managers now seem to want to paint it. A few more points would help maintain the positivity but the club is moving in the right direction.
I started this piece by talking of the importance of appreciating the value of a night under the lights at Goodison Park. This will be the last Everton home game for seven weeks and with that, the final opportunity for Fans Supporting Foodbanks to collect much-needed donations ahead of Christmas. That is a terrible break for the organisation, coming at the cruellest time of a cost of living crisis. So if you are lucky enough to be heading to L4 for the match remember to savour the occasion. But also remember, if you are in a position to be able to, to support the charity and its work to help those most in need.
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