The variation in prize money across the positions Everton could yet finish in means every point matters across the final two games
Everton celebrate James Tarkowski's opening goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park. Photo by Silvina Brodersohn - CameraSport via Getty Images
Everton celebrate James Tarkowski's opening goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park. Photo by Silvina Brodersohn - CameraSport via Getty Images
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Everton will enter the penultimate weekend of the season knowing every extra point they can secure will be worth millions of pounds.
The Blues currently sit in tenth place and, while recent results have dealt their European hopes a blow, will go into the final home game of the season against Sunderland knowing a win could open up the chance for a late surge into the top eight - which could be enough to secure midweek football on the continent.
Other forces will also be at play, including the size of the merit payments due to Everton.
That figure still has the potential to swing wildly given - technically - half the spots in the Premier League table could yet be occupied by the club.
The Blues could finish anywhere between sixth and sixteenth given the packed nature of the middle third of the table. Both extremes are highly unlikely.
For Everton to finish sixth - a possible Champions League spot - they would need to beat Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur, for Bournemouth to lose both their final matches, and for David Moyes’ side to outperform the teams between them, Brighton, Brentford and Chelsea.
Likewise, to finish sixteenth, the Blues would need to lose their final matches and for Nottingham Forest to win their games, with all the clubs in between overtaking them too.
But every change in position will have a consequence financially.
The merit payment figures are yet to be confirmed for the current season - those for last year were made public by the Premier League on July 1, just over a month after the curtain fell on the campaign.
Those figures show the variation in merit payments across the spectrum of final positions Everton could finish in was extreme 12 months ago - the difference between sixth and sixteenth was £26.5m - and the numbers provide a framework for how this year could go.
Last season, the team that finished 10th, Brentford, earned £29.1m for their league finish. Sixth-placed Aston Villa picked up £39.8m, while 16th placed Wolves received £13.3m.
Each extra spot was worth roughly £2.6m last year, and around £2.8m the season before - a useful source of income at a time of intense scrutiny on club finances.
So aside from the battle for Europe and the desire to end the season on a high, the final results could still represent a swing of tens of millions in prize money.
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