Everton Preview: Fight for Europe heats up

Everton have once again proved they are one of the best teams in the country. After a poor start to the season, the club now find themselves in 6^th place in the table where a UEFA Europa League spot looks secure. To add to this, Everton are going to Wembley in the FA Cup Semi Finals where they will play Manchester United, knocking out Liverpool in an earlier round has to be a massive highlight for fans.

Everton fans have to see boss David Moyes as one of the clubs best managers as he has built a great team on a tight budget and progressed slowly. Signing the likes of Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Joleon Lescott may not have raised any eyebrows at the time of their arrival but now they are all sought after players and are the squads key players. January saw Manchester City flop Jo sign for the Blues on loan and he made a fantastic impact, scoring twice on his debut against Bolton.

It has been two weeks since Wigan last played and the 1-0 win over Hull, live on the Sky Sports cameras, made people sit up and think that the club was genuine hopefuls for Europe. The international break gave some members of the squad the chance to recuperate while others went off to represent their countries in preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

One key talking point was Amr Zaki who will not be involved tomorrow at Goodison Park. Much has been said about Zaki and it's probably best that the club deal with the incident as soon as possible so that the fantastic season the club is having does not fade away.

Zaki is a definite absentee while Jason Koumas will have a late fitness test having picked up a hip injury with Wales. Antonio Valencia played for Ecuador twice and only got back into the UK on Friday, as did Hugo Rodallega who played for Colombia, both players are in contention. Steve Bruce will have the luxury of picking from a virtually fully fit squad.

Kirkland

Melchiot Boyce Bramble Figueroa

Valencia Brown Watson N'Zogbia

Scharner

Mido

Tim Howard - The USA number one is always a consistent performer, Unlucky not to have stayed on at Manchester United but the form of Edwin Van Der Sar forced Howard to look elsewhere. A top goalkeeper who commands his area well.

Phil Jagielka - Signed from Sheffield United in 2007 and has began to receive international recognition for his hard work at Everton. Can play in various positions but has excelled at centre back alongside Joleon Lescott. Strong in the tackle and keeps close to his man.

Tim Cahill - Cahill may not feature as he is currently suffering from a calf injury but the Australian always has an influence in any match. He may not be the tallest man on the pitch but he fights for every ball and wins most headers he goes up for. Also a danger man in the penalty area.

Jo - The Brazilian seems to have settled in well at Everton since his loan move and has started to hit the goal trail. Another person with aerial threat and also a good finisher. Could be snapped up by Everton once his loan spell ends.

Everton will be favourites with their strong home form but never write off Wigan. The club has often been the underdog and proved they are no pushover. Expect a tough physical game where goals will be hard to come by.