The Toffees travel to highflying Leicester City on the back of a disappointing defeat to the dreadful Norwich last weekend to leave them 16th in the table, just four points outside the relegation zone but manager Marco Silva has asked for a reaction from Alex Iwobi and his other star performers.
It’s still a surprise that the Portuguese has not been sacked by Everton following a run of six losses in eight away games and with second placed Leicester City up next, another defeat may see Marco Silva finally shown the exit door.
Nigeria international Alex Iwobi, bought from Arsenal over the summer, is one of the key players Everton can place confidence on to make an impact against Brendan Rodgers side and help save the job of their manager.
The Super Eagles playmaker is yet to find his best form for the Toffees since his big money move but will have to play a huge part this weekend if Everton are to make amends for their awful display and result against Norwich.
Beating the Foxes is currently easier said than done, though, as Brendan Rodgers’ side are unbeaten in the Premier League at the King Power Stadium this season, winning five of their six matches there. Leicester also hold the best defensive record in the top flight, conceding just eight goals in 13 games so far.
However, Marco Silva is believing that the anger his players hold of past poor performances and the quality of his attackers – including Iwobi – can help the Toffees record one of the results of the season.
“We know the club we are working at, this is Everton Football Club – and if you want to be a winning team, you have to be sad and angry with bad results and performances,” Silva told Everton website as monitored by Soccernet.ng.
“But we know we can react in the next game.
“I saw a good reaction from the players in the past few days. I am seeing [leaders] and I believe they can show up.
“We have to do it as a team, not just one, two or three. This is a moment for the leaders to show up and take responsibility.
“First of all myself, like always. On the pitch, we have to be strong as a collective.
“Then some individual players have this [leadership] quality and can take responsibility as well.” Our performance was not good enough [against Norwich],” Silva continued.
“I am the first one looking at the game and analysing what happened, speaking the truth about the game.
“I was really disappointed, the players were as well – and we must share our fans’ frustration. The next game is a good opportunity to show different things.”