Carlo Ancelotti is urging Everton to seize a “fantastic opportunity” when Crystal Palace come to Goodison Park on Saturday.
Manager Ancelotti’s team has won two and drawn two of four fixtures following a 10-day hiatus in Premier League action after the New Year’s Day game at Manchester City.
Victory over Palace, then, would add up to a return of 11 points from five matches before Everton’s forthcoming two-week winter break. Equally, another win would lift the Blues to seventh, a position which could potentially bank European qualification at the end of the season.
Ancelotti, who has collected 14 points from seven matches in charge, insists Europa League football “is the target” for his team.
Everton would need to finish fifth to guarantee a spot in that competition and are four points behind current occupants Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues beat Watford last week courtesy of Theo Walcott's last-gasp strike and will return to a devilish set of fixtures following their fortnight off. But Ancelotti is thinking only about the challenge presented by Roy Hodgson’s Palace this weekend.
“We have to focus on this game, it comes after a lot of matches and we have done well and want to close this period with a victory,” said Ancelotti.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for us to climb the table.
“To play in the Europa League would be a fantastic result for us for next season.
“This has to be our target in this moment… and we will see in the next few games what is going to happen.
“The spirit of the team is good and results have helped create a good atmosphere here.
“It was a fantastic effort to win at Watford.
“That helped keep motivation high and maintain that good atmosphere.
“I expect a difficult game against Palace. Every team has its own quality, Palace has a manager with a lot of experience and players with a lot of quality, so we have to be at 100 per cent of our capability.
“But with the support of our stadium we can achieve three points.”
Everton will be without the suspended Fabian Delph for Palace's visit, leaving Ancelotti to choose two midfielders from the trio of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies.
The Italian boss hopes to reintroduce another midfielder in Andre Gomes in a behind-closed-doors fixture on 16 February and is optimistic over Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s chances of returning before the end of the season.
Ancelotti has a full deck of forwards to choose from, though, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin poised to maintain his ever-present record under the former AC Milan boss.
Englishman Calvert-Lewin has scored five goals in his past seven league outings – and reached double figures for the campaign when he struck against Newcastle United in Everton’s most recent home game.
“I knew about him [before coming to Everton],” said Ancelotti. “I was not surprised by his quality – and he is showing that quality.
"He can improve, I am sure, he is still young.
“But I am satisfied with the performances he has given.
“Fabian did a good job in the past games, using his personality and character.
“He is a player with a lot of character and this team needs players with that quality.
“But I have confidence in all the players, I am not focused on the players not in this game.
“I want to focus on the ones who are going to play.”
Ancelotti will give his players five days’ rest following the Palace fixture. They will have more than one week to prepare for the trip to Arsenal on 23 February and the boss intends to use that period to further refine his team’s football.
He added: “The players need rest, physically the team is in a good condition and the fact we have only one injury [Gbamin] is important.
“We have to close this period, then prepare for the end of the season and some really difficult games.
“We have to be more confident at times and play in our style.
“We need to be more precise in what we are going to do on the pitch.
“The work of the manager is to give the players a clear idea and strong motivation.
“From the first day
the style of football was better… at this moment I am satisfied with what we are doing.
“But we have to improve.”
Everton FC