David Moyes insisted his Everton will go full throttle for their final seven Premier League games to try and secure a spot in Europe next season.
Everton face fellow European rivals Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium this Saturday, with goal difference separating the two sides occupying seventh and eighth in the table.
The Toffees have won three of their last four Premier League outings and signed off for the final international break of the season with a 3-0 thrashing of Chelsea.
Moyes' side are assigned a 7.4% chance of finishing in the top five, which was confirmed to be enough for Champions League football next season following Arsenal's 1-0 win over Sporting CP in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.
The Opta supercomputer's probability for the Toffees' European prospects improves to 19.3% for a top-six finish and 36.1% for seventh in its season simulations, though they are predicted to most likely end up in eighth (17.3%), which may be enough to qualify for Europe but is dependent on results in the cup competitions.
"It's seven games to go to see if we can cling on to a position in Europe," Moyes said.
"I'd say if we can get a position in the top 10 we'd see it as a really good season, not near the bottom of the table fighting relegation.
"But I think we're here now, I don't want to step away because you don't get many chances.
"So I think every game we have to see if we can get points and see if we can give ourselves a chance of getting into one of the European competitions."
Brentford missed an opportunity to go level on points with Chelsea after being held to a goalless draw by Leeds United at Elland Road on March 21.
Keith Andrews conceded it would take a "mammoth effort" from his team to remain where they are in the Premier League in their final seven league matches of 2025-26.
After Everton, they face Fulham, Manchester United, West Ham, Manchester City and Crystal Palace, before ending their campaign at Anfield against Liverpool.
But midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk did not share Andrews' comments, with the Ukrainian, who recently signed a new deal at the club, planning to give everything in Brentford's challenge after a strong run in the side.
"It was a good moment for me and for my family to sign a big deal with a big club," Yarmoliuk told Brentford's official website.
"I know if you work hard, you will get your game time. I was sure I was on the right path.
"I'm 100 per cent sure that this is the right place to continue to grow. I'm 100 per cent sure that I can grow, and the team can grow.
"I was so excited for this season, so I was working hard. I think many players worked hard, so that's why we can keep fighting in the best league in the world."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Igor Thiago
Having scored in the international break during his first call-up for Brazil, Igor Thiago will return to Brentford full of confidence and hoping to aid their quest for Europe.
Thiago's next goal for Brentford will be his 20th in the Premier League this season, the joint-most by a player for the Bees in the competition after Ivan Toney in 2022-23 and Bryan Mbeumo in 2024-25.
Everton – Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this season (6.1 – 40.1 xGoT and 34 goals conceded, excluding own goals).
Since the start of 2022-23, he has prevented 24.1 goals, nine more than any other shot-stopper, and he will need to be in top form here to stop their European rivals.
MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN
Brentford beat Everton 4-2 in January's reverse fixture, ending a six-game winless run against the Toffees in the Premier League (D3 L3).
But the Bees have drawn each of their last three league games for the first time since April 2024. They last drew four in a row in the league in April 2021 in the Championship.
Everton, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last three Premier League away games against Brentford (W1 D2) and have conceded exactly once in each of their four visits to the Bees in the competition.
In addition, since MD19 in the Premier League, only Arsenal (28) and Manchester United (26) have collected more points than Everton (21 – W6 D3 L4).
Despite only Arsenal (48) picking up more points away from home in the Premier League than Everton (41) since Moyes returned to the club, the Toffees could lose successive league matches on the road for the second time since the Scot's return, after doing so between September and October this season against Liverpool and Manchester City.
And you can expect a battle. Everton (684) and Brentford (626) are the only two sides in the Premier League this season to have won 600+ aerial duels, while also being two of the four sides to have played the most long passes this term (Brentford, 1,801 – Everton, 1,648).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 47.4%
Draw – 26.2%
Everton – 26.4%