After losing in the FA Cup semi-finals in heartbreaking fashion last weekend, it is back to the Premier League for Everton on Saturday as they host Bournemouth.
The visiting Cherries have done well to all but secure their top-flight safety but they are ending the season on a bit of a slump.
Everton
© Getty ImagesLike last season, the Toffees are on course for a below-par mid-table finish but Roberto Martinez's saving grace, to an extent, has been the cup competitions this term.
Everton made it to the last four of the League Cup but then lost to Manchester City and it was the other team from Manchester who got the better of them at Wembley this time around.
Man United were the better side in the first half and deservedly led thanks to former Toffee Marouane Fellaini, but Everton roared back in the second 45 and equalised through a Chris Smalling own goal before Anthony Martial sent the red half of Wembley wild deep in added time.
It was a cruel blow, but late heartbreak is not an unfamiliar feeling for Everton fans this season – the two latest goals in the Premier League this term have both been scored against the Toffees, including Junior Stanislas's 98th-minute equaliser for Bournemouth in the reverse of this fixture in November.
Wembley woe compounded a terrible week for Everton and Martinez, who watched his side get thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool in one of the most one-sided Merseyside derbies in recent memory just three days before the semi-final.
The Toffees' board is reportedly meeting today to discuss Martinez's future and should it go badly for him and be followed up by a poor performance on Saturday, the writing could be on the wall.
The defeat at Anfield last week made it seven without a win in the league for Everton, and failure to collect three points this weekend would be the first time since December 1999 that the Toffees have gone winless in eight top-flight games.
Some supporters have called for Martinez's head with banners of late, but there could reportedly be a larger fan protest in the club's first match back at Goodison since the crushing two recent defeats.
The Toffees' home form has been one of the main reasons for the supporters' unrest. Only Aston Villa (two) have won fewer home games than Everton (four) in the Premier League this season.
Romelu Lukaku missed multiple good chances against United and in the league he has now gone five games without a goal; he hasn't gone six in a row without a goal since January 2015 (eight in a row).
However, Lukaku has scored in both of his appearances against Bournemouth this season, once in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup.
Fellow starlet Ross Barkley is also badly out of form having not scored or assisted a single goal in any of his last 10 Premier League appearances for Everton.
Recent Premier League form: LLDDDL
Recent form (all competitions): LDDDLL
Bournemouth
© Getty ImagesBournemouth start the match three places below Everton, but they have the same number of points as the Toffees and will go above them with a win.
The Cherries have already passed the heralded 40-point mark with three games of their maiden top-flight season remaining, but their form of late is a little worrying for manager Eddie Howe.
A narrow 2-1 win at rockbottom Aston Villa is the only points Bournemouth have managed in five matches, but the four defeats were all against big names – Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Last weekend they hosted last year's champions and had a chance to draw level with them in the table but fell to a 4-1 defeat, becoming the first team to let Eden Hazard score against them in the league this season.
This Saturday it will be interesting to see how the Goodison crowd take to Howe, who is an Everton fan and has been tipped as a potential replacement for Martinez.
Bournemouth may have lost four of their last five matches, but they have only tasted defeat once in their last seven matches on the road and that was against second-placed Tottenham.
Defensively the Cherries are struggling having conceded at least two goals in five of their last six matches.
Recent form: WLLWLL
Team News
Martinez has several absentees at the back, with Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka and Ramiro Funes Mori serving the second of his three-match ban here.
Tony Hibbert could therefore make his first start since December 2014, while youngster Matthew Pennington is also in line for his debut.
Eddie Howe will be without Adam Smith, Harry Arter and Tyrone Mings for the trip to Everton, while Max Gradel may also miss out, as he did in their last match.
Callum Wilson and Benik Afobe both played in the final 30 minutes of their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last weekend and they could start together for the first time here.
Max Gradel is close to a return, but full-back Adam Smith and midfielder Harry Arter remain sidelined by respective groin and Achilles injuries.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Robles; Oviedo, Pennington, Stones, Baines; Besic, McCarthy; Lennon, Barkley, Cleverley; Lukaku
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Boruc; Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels; Ritchie, Surman, Gosling, Pugh; King; Afobe
Head To Head
Everton have never lost against Bournemouth in the five matches they have played in all competitions (W4 D1), but the reverse league fixture would have felt like defeat.
Two first-half goals had Everton in complete control, but Bournemouth hit back to equalise before Barkley's 95th-minute strike appeared to win it. However, Stanislas had the last laugh in the 98th minute to earn the hosts a point.
Bournemouth mustered 10 shots on target in that game, the most that they have ever managed in a single Premier League match.
Since then, Everton visited the Vitality Stadium again for an FA Cup tie in February and eased to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Lukaku and Barkley.
The Dugout Podcast
Hit play below to listen to Sports Mole's new podcast 'The Dugout' for our take on the week's biggest football talking points:
We say: Everton 2-2 Bournemouth
All eyes will be on Martinez and his possible successor Howe and they both like to play attractive football, so an entertaining contest could ensue. Everton need a win badly, but they are light at the back and Bournemouth could earn a point.
