James Maddison knows Leicester City's meeting with Everton could be a defining moment in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, describing the six-pointer as "massive".
Leicester and Everton are both in the relegation zone ahead of Monday's clash at the King Power Stadium, separated by just one point as they desperately scrap for survival.
The Foxes have experienced something of an upturn since Dean Smith took charge, beating Wolves and rescuing a 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Leeds United in their last two games.
With just five matches remaining for the Foxes to save their season, Maddison hopes Smith's impact will prove decisive.
"It's definitely given us a lift," Maddison said of Smith's arrival. "When you have a new manager, it's a new voice, new messages and so everyone's on it.
"There has been a real uplift in confidence and belief and hopefully that will leave us in good stead so we can produce another positive performance and result against Everton.
"We're all fighting and battling for Premier League safety. We all know their manager and what type of characteristics he has, he'll be looking for a reaction and getting them going.
"Make no mistake about it, this is a massive game – there's no point in dressing it up as anything else."
Everton are growing desperate following Thursday's dismal 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United, with the Toffees still to face Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City in a difficult run-in.
Though the Toffees are winless in six games, Sean Dyche still believes in their survival prospects – though he accepts they need to improve quickly.
"I think we can do it," he said. "It is about us.
"We have to correct the mistakes we have made in the last few weeks. We can all talk the talk, but it is about walking the walk."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Leicester City – Jamie Vardy
Vardy ended his 20-game Premier League goal drought last time out, netting a crucial equaliser against Leicester's fellow relegation candidates Leeds.
Having scored six goals in his first nine league games against Everton, Vardy has failed to net in his last four against them. If he can end that run on Monday, it could prove crucial in their battle to survive.
Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Everton are winless in their last 12 Premier League away games (D5 L7), failing to score on nine separate occasions during that run.
Having endured another injury-hit campaign, Calvert-Lewin last found the net in a Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace in October. Dyche's men need him to find form in the coming weeks.
MATCH PREDICTION – LEICESTER CITY WIN
Having won on their last two Premier League trips to Leicester, Everton are looking to post three successive away wins against the Foxes for the first time in their history.
However, a run of 12 Premier League away games without a win has done nothing to alleviate the Toffees' relegation fears. Since beating Brighton in August 2021, they have won just two of their 33 away league matches (D10 L21).
Leicester boss Smith, meanwhile, has won four and lost none of his six previous Premier League meetings with Everton, winning three of his four at home against the Toffees.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Leicester City - 52.1 per cent
Everton - 21.4 per cent
Draw - 26.5 per cent
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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