Assessing Everton's final six Premier League fixtures

With six games left to play before the curtain comes down on the 2022-23 season, Sean Dyche's side find themselves one point adrift from safety.

The Toffees need to finish the campaign with a positive run of results if they are to extend their 69-year stay in the top flight.

Here, Sports Mole assesses Everton's run-in as they look to remain one of six sides that have never been relegated from the Premier League.

Newcastle United (Home) - April 27

Everton will have their work cut out on Thursday when they face a Newcastle side that will be in a buoyant mood after thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 at the weekend.

The Toffees were narrowly beaten when they made the trip to St James' Park in October, but they have fond memories of their most recent home game against Newcastle in March 2022.

With the contest seemingly set to end in a goalless draw, Alex Iwobi snatched all three points with a dramatic winner in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

Anthony Gordon was playing for the Toffees in that encounter, but a year later, he will be looking to get the better of his boyhood club after joining Newcastle in a £45m deal in January.

Leicester City (Away) - May 1

Once the final whistle blows at Goodison Park on Thursday, Everton will have to quickly turn their attention to Sunday's relegation six-pointer against Leicester City.

The Toffees will head to the King Power Stadium looking to improve upon their poor away record, with their 16 away league matches producing just one win, seven draws and eight defeats.

Since beating Southampton at the St Mary's Stadium on October 1, Everton have gone 12 away league games without a victory, but there is still reason to be optimistic, as the Toffees celebrated a 2-1 victory in their last away meeting with Leicester.

The visitors will be hoping to halt the momentum that is starting to be built by Leicester, who have picked up four points from their last two games.

Brighton & Hove Albion (Away) - May 8

In the second of two away games in a row, Everton will head to the Amex Stadium to face a Brighton & Hove Albion side that are chasing European qualification.

The Toffees will have a week to prepare for the contest, while Brighton will play host to Manchester United four days before the Merseyside club arrive on the South Coast.

Everton will be hoping their fresher legs can help them claim a positive result as they look to avenge the 4-1 defeat they suffered when the two sides met at Goodison Park in January.

Despite being heavily beaten in the reverse fixture, Everton were successful on their last trip to the Amex Stadium, claiming a 2-0 victory thanks to a Demarai Gray strike and a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty.

Manchester City (Home) - May 14

Everton will return to Goodison Park on May 14 for a daunting home fixture against title-chasing Manchester City.

With the Toffees winless in 12 competitive games against the Citizens, hopes of picking up all three points will be slim.

However, they will be able to take some comfort from the fact that they held Pep Guardiola's charges to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in December, after Gray cancelled out Erling Braut Haaland's opener with a thunderous second-half strike.

Having lost their last six home games against Man City, picking up a point from next month's contest would certainly represent a positive result for the Toffees.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (Away) - May 20

In the penultimate game of the 2022-23 season, Everton will head to Molineux where they will go up against a Wolves side that may have little to play for.

Julen Lopetegui's side are currently nine points clear of the relegation zone, and barring a poor run of results, they are likely to be safe by the time Everton arrive in the West Midlands.

Even if they may be looking forward to their summer break, Wolves will still prove tough to beat on home turf, having picked up 26 of their 37 points from home games this season.

The Toffees have also lost their last three meetings against Wolves, including a 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture.

Bournemouth (Home) - May 28

Dyche will be desperate for his side to have their Premier League status assured by the time they welcome Bournemouth to Goodison Park on the final day of the season.

Should Everton need to pick up at least a point then they will need to improve upon their recent head-to-head record against the Cherries.

The Toffees have lost their last four competitive meetings with the South Coast side, conceding at least three goals in all of those defeats.

Two of those losses have taken place this season at the Vitality Stadium, where Everton were thrashed 4-1 in October's League Cup tie before they lost 3-0 in November's league meeting, but with home advantage in their favour this time around, they will be hopeful of securing a positive result.