Gary Lineker has made Everton and Leicester City relegation stance clear
Gary Lineker has previously shared his view on the relegation battle involving two of his former teams, Everton and Leicester City. The Toffees currently sit 16th in the Premier League after 22 games and are seven points clear of the bottom three, having played a game more than 18th-placed Wolves.
Everton sacked previous manager Sean Dyche last month, with David Moyes returning to Goodison Park after 11-and-a-half years. The ex-Manchester United and West Ham boss has overseen two wins and a defeat since returning to the club.
Leicester, meanwhile, sit 17th in the top-flight table and are a point clear of the relegation zone. Ruud van Nistelrooy's team ended a seven-match losing streak in the league last time out with a notable 2-1 victory at Tottenham.
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Both teams will now meet on Merseyside on Saturday (3pm) in what is likely to be a hugely significant fixture in the relegation battle. And Lineker has previously admitted to being torn when assessing who could go down between his two former sides.
“I’m going to be optimistic, I’m not going to say Leicester are going to go down," he told The Rest Is Football in September 2024.
“At the same time, I’m thinking if I don’t say Leicester, who else do I say? Everton? I don’t want to say Everton either because I played for them.”
Moyes has issued injury updates on Dwight McNeil and Youssef Chermiti ahead of Saturday's game while addressing the possibility of using centre-back Michael Keane as an auxiliary striker.
“Dwight’s had a minor surgery. I’ve just spoken to him as I walked into the press conference," he said. “It’s the first I’d seen him. He’s back in the building.
“So, hopefully this is sorting out his injury that was a little bit different to diagnose. But hopefully this will help get him back.
“Chermiti is back on the grass today. I’m getting told four weeks until we might have a chance of getting him back but today was his first day and he was out with the physios.”
