With J Hutcherson -- Later today, Tim Howard and Everton get the opportunity to marginalize an earlier result. That would be the 5-0 collapse at Benfica on October 22nd. A home win at Goodison Park takes the gloss off what happened at Estadio da Luz.
In the short-term, it even takes out Benfica's goal differential since an Everton win puts them ahead on points in Group I. As statement games go, any response is enough.
As confidence building exercises go, Howard is enough of a professional to understand when the result is on him. He hasn't really faced that in Group I play this season. The results have either been blowouts or games that the Everton offense eventually took over. 4-0 Everton against AEK Athens, Everton coming on late to take their away game against BATE Borisov 2-1. The second-half collapse against Benfica.
With only AEK Athens left on their away schedule, any problems on Everton's path to the knockout stage would likely involve Benfica. Even that shouldn't be enough.
The road isn't quite as clear for Fulham, who are in the odd position of chasing FC Basel but have the edge on the group's big club AS Roma. The points run from first to third is six, five, four. Roma could finish the night two points in front of Fulham, a scenario in their control as they host at Stadio Olimpico.
Clint Dempsey's club got a draw at home and are playing well, setting up this game as the likely decider for one of the slots in Group E. Another draw would be a big result for Fulham. Considering Roma's Serie A season, it's not a surprise that they came to the same conclusion when they got a point at Craven Cottage.
In the other game, Basel is expected to run a mix of reserves and first team players against CSKA Sofia. CSKA's one result was a home draw against Fulham, enough of an indication that they're not going to roll over against a less than first-choice Basel.
Group E could reshuffle, creating a scenario that ends up with three teams in contention on December 16th. That might not end up favoring Fulham, who would likely need to beat Basel away while Roma travels to play a CSKA Sofia club that should already be out of contention. Yet another reason why tonight in Rome carries so much importance.
With two matchdays remaining after tonight, Group E is still about the contenders beating each other. If any of them slip against CSKA Sofia, that changes.
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