Everton fly the flag for British football in the Europa League, yet it was legitimate to ask Roberto Martinez whether he should wave a white one against Dynamo Kyiv. His answer was unequivocal; there will be no backing down against Ukraine's unbeaten league leaders at Goodison Park.
Newcastle United visit on Sunday in a game with major implications both for Everton’s Premier League survival prospects and the growing pressure on their manager. For Martinez, however, there is no priority or prospect of resting players against Sergei Rebrov’s team in readiness for a relegation fight.
Five wins from eight Europa League games underlines Everton’s commitment to the competition (especially in comparison to six wins from 31 domestic fixtures) and the Champions League ticket that awaits this season’s winners in Warsaw will not be snubbed now.
“You cannot underestimate the amount of work and effort that has gone into this competition at the club over the last 18 months,” said Martinez. “One competition shouldn’t get in the way of the other.”
Eight points
Everton have taken only eight points from a possible 24 after Europa League fixtures this season but their overall return has been so poor that resting players against Dynamo would bring no guarantees.
The contrast between their domestic and European form is vast, with Wolfsburg, Lille and Young Boys of Bern all beaten handsomely by a team that have been consistently ineffective in the Premier League.
Dynamo are unbeaten in 16 league games and have not dropped a domestic point since November, although they have never won in 11 encounters in England.
Their leading goalscorer in the Europa League this season, Andriy Yarmolenko, faced missing both legs against Everton due to a three-match suspension received for a straight red card against Guingamp in the previous round, only for the ban to be reduced to one game on appeal.
That was served in the 3-1 win over the French club that was marred by crowd trouble in Ukraine, resulting in a partial closure of the Olympic Stadium for next week’s return.
Everton know they must travel with a decent advantage. Guardian Service
