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Everton vs Sunderland

FA Cup 6th Round Preview

The Quarter Finals of the FA Cup. With a trip to Wembley as the prize for the victors this was always going to be a big game but in the aftermath of the derby debacle at Anfield on Tuesday night, Everton's clash with Sunderland this weekend has taken on an entirely different and unexpected dimension.

It's ironic that the man who struck such a chord with Blues fans on day one with his "People's Club" proclamation should have marked his 10-year anniversary in charge at Goodison Park by damaging his stock so badly with a sizeable proportion of the fanbase.

Few actions by Moyes over the past decade have angered fans to such a degree as his decision to make six changes to a winning team at Anfield, not to mention, of course, his astoundingly blasé post-match interview after the crushing defeat. What was clear from his comments, however, was that the manager, in his quest to finally land a trophy after 10 years in the job, had definitively made the FA Cup his priority. The further irony that it was an ill-advised selection decision in the League Cup against Chelsea, namely dropping Tim Howard for a very ring-rusty Jan Mucha, that probably cost him a chance at silverware in the competition earlier this season might have been lost on him.

Truth be told, while the most wounded of Blues won't ever forget what transpired on Tuesday, they'll probably forgive Moyes if he can steer his team to victory in the Final in May. It's just that he has arguably heaped more pressure than was necessary on this Saturday's occasion and it's up to him and his players to rise above the rancour and book passage to Wembley with victory at the first attempt.

With Steven Pienaar cup-tied, the obvious course of action for the manager to take would be to simply reinstate the team that started against Spurs last week. Restoring the Heitinga-Distin partnership and putting Nikica Jelavic back into the starting XI should be the very least Moyes does but it would be a surprise if the likes of Leon Osman, Tim Cahill, Royston Drenthe and perhaps Phil Neville didn't find their way back into the team for the visit of Sunderland.

Darron Gibson is the only other confirmed absentee as he recovers from a knee injury so there will be plenty of depth on the bench.

The derby defeat represents Everton's only defeat in their last 10 games in all competitions and, as such, could be regarded as a bump in the ever-smoother trail that the Blues have been blazing since the turn of the year. The psychology of the players and home faithful will surely have been affected, although another home tie — the Blues' seventh successive home draw in the cup this season — and their recent record over Sunderland can only help on that score.

In their last four home games against the Mackems, Everton have a 100% record, scoring 14 goals and conceding just one and Moyes has yet to taste defeat against Sunderland. His record against Martin O'Neill is poor, however, with just win in nine but that solitary victory came in the FA Cup Quarter Finals against Aston Villa three years ago.

Having set his stall out to go all out for the FA Cup, Moyes now has to deliver with outright victory in front of a packed house at Goodison. It's a must-win game in many respects, one that will set the tone for the next few weeks of the season.

Lyndon Lloyd

Quotes or other material sourced from ToffeWeb

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