Everton and boss Roberto Martinez face a season defining week with a Merseyside derby against Liverpool on Wednesday night, followed by an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on Saturday.
Not only could be a season defining week for Everton, but it could be a career defining week for under-pressure boss Martinez. The Toffees have wildly underachieved this season in the Premier League under the Spaniard.
The Toffees are currently 11th in the Premier League table after three consecutive draws in the top-flight, despite having a host of highly-rated young players in their squad such as Romelu Lukaku, John Stones and Ross Barkley.
Martinez’s team were also disappointing last season in the top-flight, having finished in fifth in the Spaniard’s debut campaign. The pressure is now mounting on the former-Wigan boss to start producing results, starting with the derby on Wednesday night.
The problem for Martinez is that most football predictions suggest that the Toffees are major underdogs for the clash. The side from Merseyside named a weakened team against Southampton at the weekend, but the Spaniard has insisted he will not rest players against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The derby has taken on a lack of importance for Everton because of their poor position in the Premier League table. The majority of Toffees fans would take a derby defeat and a win against United in the semi-final.
Unfortunately a derby defeat could affect moral within the Toffees camp, as they are already six Premier League games without a win. A heavy defeat at Anfield would not help alleviate the pressure on the team or the boss.
If Everton lose both matches then there will be question marks over whether Martinez should keep his job or not.