Everton will look to take advantage of some favourable results elsewhere when they take on Tottenham on Monday evening.

The bottom three and 16th-placed Leeds all lost at the weekend, with Everton now having at least two games in hand in all of them. A win in north London therefore would open up a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone.

To do that though they need to need a dramatic improvement on what they have served up on the road so far this season. The Toffees have the worst away record in the Premier League after winning just once away from Goodson so far this campaign - and that was at Brighton way back in August.

There is not much to glean from their FA Cup win over Boreham Wood given the standard of opposition, but it was at least another win which should bolster confidence. Meanwhile the anger from the VAR farce against Manchester City has hopefully subsided, but what remains should be a determination to match that level of performance.

Do that and they have a great chance of getting something on Monday. Revert to type though and it could be yet another difficult evening.

The opposition

Tottenham’s season can perhaps be summed up by looking at their last four results.

A dramatic 3-2 victory at Manchester City was followed up by a dismal 1-0 defeat at Burnley four days later, with boss Antonio Conte appearing to suggest he could quit in the immediate aftermath.

Conte clarified his comments a few days later and said he remained committed to the club, with his side then breezing past Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road with a dynamic display of attacking flair.

Four days later though the London club slipped to another defeat, this time at Championship Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.

Will the real Tottenham Hotspur please stand up?

Whatever Spurs side we see on Monday Everton will not have history on their side. The Toffees have won just one of the last 18 meetings between the two sides - a 1-0 victory at Spurs on the opening day of last season. However, Tottenham have only one won of their last seven meetings with Everton in all competitions. Money on the draw then?

If you are looking at goalscorers then don’t look much further than Harry Kane, who has 11 goals in 13 appearances against the Blues.

Previous meeting

Everton 0-0 Tottenham, November 7 2021

Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Antonio Conte’s first league game in charge of Spurs was a scrappy goalless draw at Goodison in November. The only real talking point was an Everton penalty that was overturned via our good friend VAR.

Team news

Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images

Frank Lampard is hopeful Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be available after recovering from a thigh injury. Demarai Gray will be assessed after missing the Boreham Wood game through illness, but Andre Gomes will be available.

Ben Godfrey is set to resume full training after a hamstring injury this week but this game has come too soon.

Tom Davies, Fabian Delph and Yerry Mina are out longer term.

What they said

Everton boss Frank Lampard: “It is important to maintain focus and consistency in our work and approach to everything.

“Our season doesn’t rest on Tottenham on Monday. But we have to work hard to prepare to try to get results in this patch of the season, which will be crucial for us.

“Every game is different, yesterday [against Boreham Wood] needed an injection of tempo because of the opposition’s low defensive block.

“In other games, you need patience.

“But you must always have hard work and togetherness, which we have. There has been a real uplift in our pressing and off-the-ball work.”

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Spurs manager Antonio Conte: “This is a good game for us, in the right moment. We are having the right time to prepare the game and, for sure, from now until the rest of the season, the only positive thing is we can have more days to prepare for the games. In the past when we had more time to prepare, we had good results.

“We know we’re facing a good team and a new manager. Frank Lampard is showing that he can do this job very well. In his last two experiences he did well with Derby and with Chelsea. Monday will be a tough game for both teams.”

Final word

Frank Lampard is right to say that our season will not rest on this encounter, but with games starting to run out there is no such thing as a free hit anymore. If they can snatch a point or even a win it would be a huge boost given all the teams around us lost over the weekend. It could also hopefully signal an end to the dreadful away form that is one of the main reason why Everton are in such a perilous position.

Easier said than done, though.