The race no-one wants to win – are Everton serious top-five contenders?

By [Staff Writer]

When the Premier League’s so-called elite began the season, few envisaged that the scrap for Champions League places would resemble a game of pass-the-parcel in which nobody wants to hold the parcel. Yet with only seven match-days remaining, defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea have prised the top-five door ajar, and standing on the threshold, blinking in the unaccustomed light, are the likes of Everton, Brentford, Fulham and Brighton.

Arsenal continue to set the pace at the summit, Manchester City the only pursuers with genuine title traction. Beneath them the picture is a study in vertigo: Manchester United (55 points), Aston Villa (51) and Liverpool (49) presently occupy the three remaining Champions League berths, but none arrive in reassuring form. United, top of the 10-game form table with 23 points, surrendered a two-goal lead at Bournemouth on Friday; Villa, victors in eight straight during autumn, have lost three on the spin; Liverpool, beaten 10 times already, were stunned by Brighton and remain outside the top four on goal difference.

Into the vacuum have stepped the improbables. Everton, three points behind Liverpool and eighth in the table, have not kicked a ball in the European Cup since it was rechristened the Champions League more than half a century ago. Manager David Moyes, overseeing a renaissance at Hill Dickinson Stadium, refuses to trumpet the prospect, yet concedes the shift in mood is seismic.

“I’d love to say it was [a possibility] – I’m trying to be more positive than I would normally be,” Moyes admitted. “For Everton to even be in the mix for Europe is unbelievable, whether it is Conference League or Champions League. We were sitting here last year just edging away from relegation, with financial issues, new ownership and a dozen players out of contract. To be in this position now is just great.”

A top-10 finish, he insists, would constitute “a really good year,” but the mathematics whisper louder ambitions. With seven fixtures left, the Toffees trail fifth-placed Liverpool by a mere three points, placing destiny within their own boots.

Brentford, too, sense history. Pre-season forecasts consigned the Bees to a relegation fight once Thomas Frank departed for Tottenham; instead, under Keith Andrews, they sit within striking distance of Chelsea and the European places. A drab 0-0 draw with Wolves on Monday checked momentum, yet Andrews retains perspective.

“It’s tight,” he said. “Seven to go. We deserve to be where we are and it’ll take a mammoth effort to stay there. Everything we can give, we will give.”

Fulham, Brighton and even clubs below maintain mathematical hope, testament to the collective wobble above. Only Arsenal and Manchester City remain unbeaten in their last six league outings; every other contender has stumbled, slipped or face-planted. The result is a congested corridor where one surge could propel an outsider into Europe’s most lucrative competition.

Whether Everton, Brentford or another interloper seizes the moment is the subplot that will command attention down the stretch. For now, the race no-one wants to win retains one certainty: someone must cross the line fifth, and the chasing pack – improbable, unfancied and undaunted – believe it might just be them.