Tim Cahill celebrates his equaliser against Sunderland
EVERTON’S players will not allow their looming FA Cup replay to detract focus from tonight’s showdown with a revitalised Arsenal.
The Blues have the incentive of a semi-final against rivals Liverpool at Wembley if they can beat Sunderland next Tuesday, but in the short-term they must host the in-form Gunners in the Premier League tonight before travelling to ninth-placed Swansea on Saturday.
And assistant manager Steve Round insists there is no danger of Everton allowing their intensity to drop, as they attempt to pursue a route into Europe via the league.
The Toffees will be without the injured Jack Rodwell and Seamus Coleman tonight, but will be able to call upon Steven Pienaar again, and Round says the focus has been unremitting as Everton bid for their first victory over Arsene Wenger’s side since 2007.
He said: “These last two days the players have been solely focused on Arsenal. They’ve put that (FA Cup) to the back burner and will pick it up again post-Swansea.
“When you’re playing this many games in such a short period, I don’t think they have time to focus on anything other than the next game.”
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Round believes David Moyes will attempt to take maximum points from the league games, but injuries and fixture congestion could influence his selections.
“I don’t know whether the manager will rotate or rest players,” he said. “We’re obviously without Jack and Seamus for Arsenal, so one has to come back. Steven Pienaar is available too.
“We’ve had an extra day this week between Saturday and Wednesday, so the team will be fully recovered. The difference might be Wednesday to Saturday for the third game in a week. But the manager wants to try and win both games so we’ll see.”