With Everton not being in action this weekend, it was always presumed that the big news in terms of the relegation battle was to come from elsewhere. But, given a thousand guesses, fans probably would not have been expecting what actually did take place on Friday morning.
Burnley announced that they had sacked manager Sean Dyche, five days after a demoralising defeat to Norwich City to leave them four points adrift of the Blues in the relegation zone. That, of course, came just shortly after a victory over Frank Lampard's men at Turf Moor which looked as though it could be a season-defining match for both sides.
The Clarets manager after that game went on to reveal his half-time comments to his players regarding Everton's ability to win a match on the road, which again looked to be a smart move from him. Although, the following weekend's results swung everything back in favour of the Blues - as they secured a crucial victory over an admittedly lacklustre Manchester United.
BREAKING: Sean Dyche sacked as Burnley relegation battle with Everton takes new twist
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But, even with the mood in both camps as it was, nobody would have expected a sacking this late in the day. We've seen clear evidence over the course of just a week in how quickly things can shift around at the bottom end of the table.
Dyche has been a highly-rated manager for some time, perceived to have been working some level of wonders at Burnley with a shoestring budget to make sure they have been a regular fixture in recent seasons of the Premier League. In fact, many believed that he could be the real defining difference in the current relegation battle, and he has been linked with a number of top jobs in the past.
His time is up now, though. And all eyes will be on the Clarets as they travel to face West Ham United on Sunday afternoon to see how the players will respond.
Dyche was the longest-serving manager in the Premier League up until Friday morning. That was his squad at Turf Moor, a group of players that he had built and surely were completely committed to giving everything for their boss.
Debate will no doubt rage over the next few days over the real reasons behind this decision and how the Burnley squad will cope in its aftermath. Only time will tell in the latter of those points, of course.
Eight games is not a lot of time for a new boss to come in, potentially inspire and convince the squad, and change around their fortunes to make up a gap and keep them in the top division. In fact, the club have already announced that under-23s coach Mike Jackson and a number of assistants will be in charge at the London Stadium this weekend - so the new man will potentially have only seven matches to achieve what's required.
So the big question remains, how does this affect Everton? What will the squad at Finch Farm be thinking, how will they react to this news?
Well, realistically, they shouldn't be concerned in the slightest by it. Lampard should be telling his players that no bit of news from any other relegation-threatened club should matter.
Will Burnley get a new manager boost between now and the end of the season? It doesn't matter. Everton should be completely focused on improving their own form and continuing to pull themselves clear of that bottom three.
The Blues have a four-point advantage with eight games left of the campaign. Their home form will of course be key, but if they can secure a few wins in those matches then they should have enough to pull themselves clear.
If they focus on what they do on the football pitch then it doesn't matter in the slightest who Burnley appoint or what they are able to achieve at their new club. Barring the Clarets going on and winning six or seven of their remaining matches of the 2021/22 season, which seems unlikely, as long as Everton's form continues on an upward trajectory then they should be fine.
Lampard will want to win every match that's in front of him to close out what has been a sorry campaign for his side. That won't change just because Burnley have rolled the dice at this late stage of the term.
The temptation for the boss, however, might be to turn Dyche's own recent comments on their head in front of his squad. "Remember when he said you couldn't win a game? Well look at him now.".
Again though, it hardly matters. Everton have played themselves into a position where their survival is completely in their own hands - if they manage to keep up their momentum from a win over Manchester United into a crucial home match against Leicester City and beyond, then it will remain the case.
It's crucial that the Blues don't let a decision such as this one enter into their thinking, because they don't play Burnley for the rest of the campaign now. In the grand scheme of things, all that matters is the points that they themselves can pick up, not focusing on their relegation opponents.
As for the Clarets, they will be desperate for this to throw Everton off their game. Don't let them be right.
