Saturday's Premier League action gets underway at Goodison Park as relegation-battling Everton and table-topping Arsenal go head-to-head in a high-stakes encounter.
An underwhelming 2-0 defeat at fellow relegation rivals West Ham United last time out was the final straw to break the camel's back as Everton parted company with underperforming boss Frank Lampard in the aftermath.
It will be up to newly-appointed manager Sean Dyche to turn the Toffees' fortunes around and navigate their way out of the drop zone as they start this round two points adrift of safety.
Dyche's first assignment as the new chief of staff is to arrest Everton's abysmal run of eight winless matches in the Premier League (D2, L6), their longest such streak in the competition since 1994.
By contrast, Arsenal's bid to lift the Premier League title for the first time after precisely two decades received another boost last time out as they scored a late winner to topple Manchester United 3-2 on home turf.
Mikel Arteta's men have been nothing short of outstanding this season, going unbeaten in 18 of their 19 league outings thus far (W16, D2), including the last 13 in a row (W11, D2).
With a five-point lead on second-placed Manchester City and a game in hand, the Gunners are in firm control of their title fate, though a 1-0 FA Cup loss at the Etihad Stadium last weekend may have dampened their spirits.
Match Preview
Everton
Despite losing four consecutive Premier League home matches for the first time since 1958, Everton can still find some hope in having won two of their last four top-flight clashes against Arsenal at home (D1).
Worryingly, though, the Toffees have picked up just three of their 44 Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table (D9, L32), most recently doing so in 2012.
Dyche's touchline debut could be a history-making event for Everton as they aim to beat Arsenal in three consecutive home meetings in the top flight for the first time since 1978.
Arsenal
Arteta has turned Arsenal int a force to be reckoned with on the road, with the Gunners winning their last four away league fixtures, including three in a row via a two-goal margin.
Another identical achievement would see the London outfit put together four successive away wins in the competition for the first time since 1953, so motivation shouldn't be lacking.
Scoring should not be a problem for Arsenal, given that only Brighton & Hove Albion (21) have netted more away goals in the Premier League this season than them (20).
Everton vs Arsenal Potential Line-ups
Everton (4-4-2): Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, James Tarkowski, Conor Coady, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Alex Iwobi, Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana, Dwight McNeil; Demarai Gray, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Eddie Nketiah.