The Toffees players, the club’s hierarchy and boss have been on the receiving end of criticism from the Everton faithful in recent weeks owing to a poor run of results in the Premier League.

 

Everton last tasted victory in the league back in late September and have since gone seven games without a win, with their attack also struggling to deliver the fireworks up front.

 

 

Despite their struggles on the pitch, Everton boss Benitez is still confident his players have what it takes to turn their fortunes around in upcoming games.

 

Benitez stressed that Everton can have a much better second half of the campaign and make their fans happy come the end of the season, with key players set to return from injury and the potential addition of fresh talent in the January window.

 

 

Asked how much confidence a win against Liverpool would give his players ahead of a busy fixture schedule, Benitez told a press conference: “If we do it [win] tomorrow, I do not need to say anything because it will be massive for everyone and I think it will be a crucial point for us in terms of bringing back the confidence.

 

“Hopefully we can do it, if we cannot do it then we have to be sure that we are strong enough because it is very difficult to say so many times when we are in this position, but I have a lot of confidence in this group of players because they give everything.

 

 

“And I am sure we will do better, especially in the second part of the league [campaign] if we have players coming back [from injury] or if we can make any additions in January.

 

“But I think that we will do much better and the fans will be happy at the end of the season.”

 

Everton are set to host an in-form Liverpool side in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday night and will be determined to break their winless streak by sending back the Reds empty-handed.