Ahead of the Premier League game against Brentford on Saturday, our Everton jury have returned to have their say
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Everton manager David Moyes gestures during the Premier League match between Everton and Brentford at Hill Dickinson Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
David Moyes and Keith Andrews will go head to head at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday as fellow European hopefuls Brentford and Everton battle it out(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
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Everton finally return to Premier League action this weekend when they take on Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
David Moyes' men have not played since March 21 due to the international break and having already being knocked out of the FA Cup.
But they will return to action on Saturday in confident mood after their 3-0 victory at home to Chelsea last time out moved them within distance of the top five.
And Everton's Champions League hopes were boosted on Tuesday night following Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Sporting CP.
As a result of the Gunners’ victory, it now means that the club finishing fifth in the final Premier League standings will be playing in the Champions League next season.
And following that news, and ahead of the game against the Bees, our Everton jury have returned to have their say...
Paul McParlan
It's been a long time since the last Everton game, and much has happened since then. The clocks have gone forward, Storm Dave has been and gone, sunshine has made a welcome return and Roy Hodgson has returned to management at the age of 78.
If he does well at Bristol City, don’t be surprised if he replaces Mr Slot during the summer! Some beneficiaries of the extended pause in the Premier League games have been our local non-league sides, with Southport recording a gate of over 3,100 for their derby clash with Marine on Good Friday.
With above-inflation rises expected for season ticket renewals, Premier League prices continue to spiral beyond the reach of many cash-strapped football followers. Non-league football is proving to be a viable alternative at a fraction of the cost, especially for younger supporters and legacy fans like me.
There are seven games of the season left, and Everton lie in eighth place and are in contention for a European place with our fate in our own hands. We are currently three points off a Champions League spot, two off the Europa League and only an inferior goal difference from a possible Conference League slot. Three of these fixtures are at home, whilst four are away, all in London.
Next up is a trip to Brentford on Saturday and a chance to leapfrog one of our closest rivals and make a significant step towards European qualification.
Brentford are having an excellent season and showed that when they comfortably beat us 4-2 at Hill Dickinson Stadium in January.
However, they have not won any of their last four home games, so now might be an opportune time to play them, especially with our outstanding away record. A draw wouldn’t be the worst outcome, but winning this one would be a massive fillip before we face that local team who play at one of our former stadia.
Apart from Jack Grealish and Charly Alcaraz, David Moyes appears to have the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from. I would expect the manager to stick with the team that comprehensively dispatched Chelsea, and if Beto can continue his recent scoring streak, then all three points should be attainable.
At the start of this season, most Blues would have been happy with not being dragged into another relegation scrap and a mid-table finish. It is a measure of the turnaround that has taken place at all levels of the club that we are looking at European qualification.
And, if that happens, after all the chaos of the end days of the Farhad Moshiri regime, that would be an achievement comparable with our unexpected top-four finish in 2004/05.
Like many, I never wanted to leave Goodison Park, but our iconic new stadium has changed the ambition and destiny of the club. Watching Everton play European football there would be the icing on the cake.
Mark McParlan
It will be 21 days between our Chelsea and Brentford fixtures, such an enormously frustrating gap. In that time, we have seen two rounds of World Cup playoffs, the FA Cup quarter-final weekend, and the Champions League quarter-final first legs over two nights.
With the exception of the story that we are looking to strike a deal to bring Jack Grealish on loan for another season, which would be excellent news, there hasn’t been much Everton news during this break.
This includes any update on season ticket renewal prices for next season. I think we are all unfortunately braced for a rise – this is what American corporate owners are always going to try to do. They’ll say it’s about raising revenues, and that the club is a business.
But it’s difficult to accept some of these arguments when we know that ordinary season ticket and match day ticket revenue is a tiny, tiny fraction of any Premier League club's whole turnover. The TV deal is worth multiple times more.
Hopefully the club might look at the relationship with Seat Unique – yes, it brings money in, but it’s an embarrassment to see seats empty that they haven’t sold. Let’s get real Everton fans into those seats.
Likewise, will there be any resolution on passing on season tickets to non-members? We all have Evertonian friends or relatives who might live somewhere else in the world but return home sometimes – at present, they would have to purchase a Forever Blue+ membership just to attend one single match. It feels like huge numbers of occasional Evertonians are being excluded.
Back to the football, I’m now finding myself slightly terrified by the idea that Southampton or Leeds might win the FA Cup and deny eighth place in the Premier League that vital European spot. Europe would be so important for keeping some of our best players and attracting new ones.
Brentford on Saturday is without a doubt the most important match of our season so far. I think we have to win either that or the derby to stand a chance at finishing in the top seven or eight.