It has been broadly a season to forget for Everton.
All momentum and optimism building around the Toffees last season quickly disappeared as manager Carlo Ancelotti found the lure of his former side Real Madrid too big and he returned to the Spanish capital.
With an unexpected managerial hunt on their hands, the blues searched high and wide for Ancelotti’s successor before finally settling on Rafa Benitez – a man who made his name on the red side of the city at Liverpool.
The decision to appoint Benitez wasn’t met with adulation by the Everton fans but they were prepared to go with the flow – especially as they won their 3 league games and looked to be a side on the up.
Things quickly deteriorated however for Benitez and Everton, with the Toffees only winning two of the subsequent league games under his stewardship and he was relieved of his duties following a 2-1 defeat to Norwich City in January.
Names such as Duncan Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Victor Pereira were banded around as replacements for Benitez before Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard was appointed as the new boss at Goodison Park.
Following a successful spell in charge of Derby County, Lampard moved onto Chelsea where he was hamstrung by not being able to make transfers in his first full season in charge but ultimately couldn’t get the results desired by Roman Abramovich and was dismissed in January 2021.
He now has a real opportunity to make his mark on an Everton side languishing down in 16th in the Premier League table and currently very much in a relegation battle this season.
Lampard has instantly been backed by the owners at Goodison Park, with January acquisitions Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek a clear indicator of how the Toffees are hoping to progress over the next few seasons.
At 5.00 to be relegated from the Premier League this season, the bookmakers clearly are not ruling out Everton’s slide continuing under Frank Lampard, but he will be out to ensure that doesn’t happen this term, reports Offers.Bet.
Whilst the probability of Everton sliding down into the Championship looks relatively slim, there are plenty of other sides embroiled in relegation trouble currently.
Following a poor run of results under Claudio Ranieri, Watford did what they do best and decided to part ways with the Italian and bring in a fresh face in Roy Hodgson.
The former England manager has the chance to restart Watford’s season and claw back the 2-point deficit they currently have in the relegation zone.
Whilst many would argue that it does feel too little, too late for the Hornets to save their season, the race is far from done yet, but they have been heavily backed to drop back down into the Championship at 1.33.
It has been a tough campaign so far too for Burnley, who have only managed to win 1 league game this season and they look to be slipping towards relegation at an alarming rate.
The Clarets currently have a 4 point gap to Premier League safety above them and at 1.50, the bookmakers clearly feel they are a serious relegation contender this season.
Norwich City have seen results and performances perk up significantly since the arrival of Dean Smith before Christmas, however they are still immersed in relegation trouble.
The Canaries have 16 points from 22 games played, with back to back wins over Everton and Watford in their last two games certainly improving the mood at Carrow Road.
It is a big ask for them to stay up however, with their financial and pulling power incomparable to some of the teams around them and they are the favourites to go down at 1.20.