Every matchweek has the aura of being potentially decisive when you hit this stage of the campaign, and perhaps none more so than for Everton in the closing stages of the season.
They're still in the relegation zone at the time of writing, two points behind both Leeds United and Burnley, but with a game in hand on both sides above them in the table. That latter quirk will count for nothing if they can't convert it into some cold, hard points - though.
Frank Lampard is fully aware of that fact, but he also keeps hammering home the point that he's only going to be focusing on Everton's results for the coming weeks. Fans can't help but nervously watch their relegation rivals in action, but there's no chance it should affect the Blues.
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In fact, he told his pre-Leicester City press conference: "Realistically everyone is going to listen in or see the results, we saw it last week. It was a positive for Burnley, we had a positive result - it wasn't so positive for Leeds.
"Ideally it doesn't affect how you prepare, it won't affect how you prepare, but it shouldn't affect how you perform in a game. That's completely on us.
"There's a nice bounce, a nice feeling around everybody [after Chelsea], but reality kicks in a day or so later. The next games are the most important ones, two away from home where we haven't performed as well as we'd want to all season.
"So it's critical and crucial for us that we approach these games with a real understanding and a real focus."
There's a few key aspects to break down from those words, but for now we'll need to focus on Burnley and Leeds. By the time Everton kick off on Sunday, they'll be fully aware of their position in relation to the Clarets.
As much as they'd love to, there's nothing that can be done about their match against Aston Villa this weekend, which kicks off at the traditional time of 3pm on Saturday. The pair still have to meet once more before the season is out, too.
So, it's perhaps not great for Evertonians to know that the Villains have only won one match against Burnley since 2010. Granted that's only in six matches thanks to respective relegations for either side, but it's still a quirk that Mike Jackson could well be hammering into his side this weekend.
And, to add in to all that of course, there's the little fact around who is currently in charge at Villa Park. Steven Gerrard.
Already you might have seen some posts on social media suggesting that the former Liverpool man would love to hand Burnley points and damage Everton's cause. But, realistically, that's not going to be the case.
He's a professional, he will want to win these matches. His mates might have a few wry smiles on their faces if Villa don't manage a win in either clash against the Clarets, but it's very doubtful that Gerrard himself would.
Hoping for a favour from the former Rangers boss this weekend might not sit too well with some Evertonians, but needs must. Well, for the fans at least.
Depending on how results go this weekend, the Blues could either find themselves further adrift where they are, or they could even find themselves a point ahead of both of their relegation rivals heading into their game in hand.
What Lampard keeps referring to, however, is that it hardly matters. Fans can hope for favours from other sides, of course - and that's to be expected in the modern footballing world.
But, as players and staff, the message keeps coming that they won't be focused on any other results. A potential Burnley win isn't going to push Everton forwards to perhaps start a more attacking line-up against Leicester, and there's no reason it should do.
The Blues have enough matches to keep themselves in the division if they can find a way to pick up a decent amount of points - especially by changing their fortunes around away from home. In all likelihood, the relegation picture at the bottom of the table is likely to flip and change a number of times before the 2021/22 campaign finally comes to a close.
So Saturday evening might see Burnley pull themselves further away from Everton, it might not. Fans might be able to ask a favour from Aston Villa, but the players and staff can't expect one.
Focus on yourselves, work on the assumption that you need as many points as physically possible to stay up, and let nothing that happens around you change your trajectory. It might be easier said than done, but still it does need to be said.
