Relegation battles, whichever division they are in, often come down to fine margins. Teams involved towards the bottom of the table will take inspiration from everywhere and the contributing factors are often out of their control.
In this case, Everton will be looking to take advantage of fixture congestion in their fight against Leeds United and Burnley in the Premier League. The Toffees travel to face Leicester on Sunday looking for their first away league win since the third game of the season.
The Foxes have firmly placed all of their eggs in their Europa Conference League basket which is likely to hand Everton an advantage on Sunday. Leicester travel to Rome on Thursday night in the second leg of their semi-final tie which is finely poised after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
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Regardless of the outcome of the match, it will be taxing for the visitors who may well be taken to extra-time, something fans of Leeds and Burnley will not want to see. While it is unlikely to be as severe on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers heavily rotated his squad in the defeat at Tottenham on Sunday with the Roma trip in mind, hinting that he could do the same against Everton.
If they are able to progress in the Italian capital on Thursday, the Conference League final doesn’t take place until after the end of the Premier League season so there will still be an immediate focus on the league for Leicester. There is still also still a very slim chance that they could qualify for Europe again next term through finishing seventh, although branding that ‘very slim’ is probably generous.
They sit 10 points behind West Ham with two games in hand so would realistically need to win all of their last five games to have any chance of leapfrogging the Hammers in seventh. All of that means that the time and energy expended by Leicester to beat Roma could benefit Everton in their fight against the relegation.
Frank Lampard’s side will also take confidence from the late equaliser they scored the last time the two teams met, just a couple of weeks ago. The fixture this time around will be taking place at the same as Leeds’ clash with Arsenal so Whites supporters will be keeping a keen eye on developments at King Power Stadium whilst praying for victory at the Emirates.
