The basement battle that exposes a relegation crisis

Everton and Nottingham face each other tomorrow in an unwanted 'points deduction derby', writes Miguel Delaney

- Miguel Delaney

It was one of those moments when, try as everyone did, they couldn’t help but peer over. That wasn’t helped by 777 Partners’ Josh Dreyfuss insisting on looking like Succession’s Kendall Roy by wearing one of those expensive baseball caps. The halftime whistle had been called at Stamford Bridge, and some of the Goodison Park executives had come together. What could they possibly be saying about this?

It wasn’t just that another dismal performance had left them 4-0 down to Chelsea at half-time, eventually to lose 6-0. It was also that such a shambles followed yet another development in their cost-control case, with the club announcing they would appeal the latest points deduction, amid ongoing headlines over 777's takeover process. None of these are words that suggest a particularly functional situation. That’s why others can’t help rubbernecking, but there’s much more to it than that.

Everyone at the bottom is looking at Everton, even more than Nottingham Forest, because their fate could change the entire face of the Premier League’s survival battle. There is constant new drama in that chase, which may well reach a peak tomorrow. It is one of those moments when so many strands come together in a way that is almost narratively perfect, only burnishing the Premier League’s propensity for storylines.