You Bet: Everton could sink into relegation dogfight
Toffees need to overcome sticky patch if they are to avoid joining Premiership strugglers
Nine teams are realistically involved in the relegation dogfight in the English Premier League and this is a crucial weekend, with six in action against each other.
The other three all play in-form teams from the top five, which means any points gained this weekend could lead to significant shifts in position.
The surprise team in trouble are Everton, who finished fifth in their first season under Roberto Martinez, but are 13th with barely half the points total they had accumulated at the same stage 12 months ago.
This season [Everton] have failed to keep a clean sheet in six matches against the big six and again they have managed only two points
Everton are bottom of the six-match form table and were the only Premier League side to lose all four games over the Christmas and New Year period. Their position seems likely to get worse today when they host Manchester City.
There are two chief reasons for Everton's predicament. One is their involvement in the Europa League, which for many teams tends to be a drain on performance and can lead to a loss of confidence that makes recovery difficult even during the mid-winter break from European competition.
That happened to Swansea last season, solved only by sacking Michael Laudrup as manager, and Everton have found themselves with similar problems.
There is talk of Martinez's job being at stake and certainly he is under pressure to prove he can solve their defensive weakness, which is the other main reason for Everton's slide down the table.