In Focus: Stats make grim reading for relegation-haunted Everton

Everton secured a much-needed victory over Newcastle before the international break but there is no doubt the Toffees are still embroiled in a relegation battle. 

That last-gasp 1-0 win over the Magpies on March 17 did see Frank Lampard's side pull three points clear of the Premier League drop zone.

Yet they remain 17th in the table and their 4-0 FA Cup hammering at Crystal Palace last time out shows how much work is still to be done. 

The Toffees return to action on Sunday at West Ham with the Merseysiders' boss knowing there is still plenty to improve on with 11 league games still to go.

More than just a dip in form

The season started positively for Everton. 

Despite many supporters having reservations regarding the appointment of former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez as the club's new manager last summer, the Toffees took 14 points from their opening seven league fixtures. 

However, the Blues have collected just 11 points from their subsequent 20 top-flight games. That is the worst record of any side in the division over the same period, with 15 of those matches ending in defeat. 

Benitez was relieved of his duties after a loss to Norwich in mid-January, with Lampard coming in as his permanent successor two weeks later.

But the former Chelsea star has subsequently lost five of his seven league fixtures in charge. 

No team have picked up fewer points than Everton (six) during 2022, while only Norwich and Watford have lost more top-flight matches this season. 

Away day Blues

Everton's form at Goodison Park has been respectable this season in terms of the points they have gained, although nine of the 19 they have collected on their own patch came across August and September. 

That respectability has not transferred to their away form. No team has collected fewer top-flight points on the road this season than Everton, who have taken just six from their 13 away fixtures to date. 

Lampard's side have also accumulated the joint-fewest away wins (one), while only bottom-of-the-table Norwich have lost more matches on the road (10 to nine) and scored fewer away goals (eight to 10). 

Everton's only away league win was at Brighton last August. Since that 2-0 success, they have picked up just two points from their subsequent 11 away matches in the league, losing each of the last four. 

Time to be Frank

This is not a vintage Everton side but they might just be saved by three other teams being worse than them come the end of the season. 

The rock-bottom Canaries are eight points below the Toffees.

And along with picking up the fewest points of any side this season, they have also scored the fewest goals, conceded the second-most and suffered more defeats than any other team. 

Norwich have also played two more games than Everton, as have 18th-placed Watford, who are three points adrift of Lampard's side and have won just two of their last 17 games. 

Sean Dyche has worked wonders at Turf Moor over recent years but Burnley are four points below Everton. 

While they have played the same number of games as the Toffees, their record of three league wins all season is the worst in the division. 

Across their last 15 outings combined, the bottom three have also collected just two wins and picked up a total of eight points — a record that suggests Everton may well be able to keep their heads above water by merely being the best of a poor bunch.

At this stage of the season, that will probably be good enough for most Toffees supporters.