Everton have improved under Sean Dyche, with his appointment following the sacking of Frank Lampard giving the club a decent chance of retaining their Premier League status.
He has lost three times in the league since taking charge and with a few more positive results in the run in, the Toffees should be safe.
Jordan Pickford has been solid in the previous two matches, averaging a rating of 7.1/10 and he could be key over the remaining few months of the campaign.
The goalkeeper has made over 200 appearances for the club and with a contract that runs until 2027, he still has a few years left at the top.
Dyche might not need to look far for an heir to the England international, with a young keeper in the academy looking like he could well be ready to make the step-up to senior level in the next couple of years – Zan-Luk Leban.
Who is Zan-Luk Leban?
The 20-year-old has already excelled at youth level for both club and country during his short career. He joined Everton from Polish side FCB Escola Varsovia and although his first season was disrupted by injury, he has gone on to excel.
Across the U18 and U21 age groups, he has made 66 appearances, keeping 14 clean sheets in that time.
He also has experience at international level too, with the keeper playing 15 times at youth level for Slovenia across the U16 and U17 levels while making his U21 debut recently, proving that his country value him as potentially one of the players who could take over from Jan Oblak when he eventually retires.
The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland has previously dubbed the player “exceptional” and the 6 foot 2 titan certainly displayed his qualities during the EFL Trophy this season, playing four matches in the competition.
He averaged a rating of 6.83/10 via Sofascore, while conceding just two goals from those four games and making 2.5 saves per game – a success rate of 83% and these stats are evident that he can perform to a high standard moving up a level and facing senior opposition, which will stand him in good stead for the future.
Dyche appears to have a future gem on his hands in Leban and although Pickford is the undisputed starter at the moment, the cup competitions could be an area where he is unleashed next term.