Everton boss Martinez: Leicester can win the league

The Toffees are the latest team to try to derail the flying Foxes, with Claudio Ranieri’s team the visitors to Goodison Park on Saturday.

– If Leicester City win this match, they’ll be top of the league on Christmas Day.

“You have to, of course”, Martinez says, when asked if Everton scout non-league players. “They have been really dynamic, one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league and they have goals”. Claudio Ranieri deserves all the credit for developing the belief in that team.

Of course everyone expects them to fall away in the second half of the season. Why shouldn’t they be?

The level of performance against Jose Mourinho’s struggling Blues has led to suggestions that Leicester could last the pace and fight it out for the title this term, or at least secure a top-four finish. “Leicester tried very hard to get me”, Mahrez told French radio station RMC.

Fortunately for Leicester fans, none of that has negatively affected their campaign – quite the opposite, in fact.

“It is a big problem not to have Huth because Romelu Lukaku is in great form and it is important we remained concentrated because they are a good team”. “It comes down to how well we can face them at the weekend and make sure we can be as close to them as we can”. Leicester are a very good team who deserve to be top.

“First and foremost, it is not the time to look at the table”, said the Everton manager.

“We need to step up”.

“They are refreshing for modern football because we all know that finances dictate a lot”, he said. You get on a winning run and the momentum carries you a very long way.

“But at the moment we have been punished every time”.

Meanwhile, James McCarthy has sat out the last three games with a muscle injury, but Martinez updated on his progress and did not rule him out of contention against the league leaders.

Ranieri, who took over from Nigel Pearson in the close season, has lost just once in the league so far, against Arsenal on September 26, and Martinez said the Italian was the ideal choice for Leicester.

“In the last two days John has been able to do his normal work”. Since the signing of the first bailout, we have been awaiting the imposition of new “measures”, which most of us endure stoically while others protest loudly.