ANCELOTTI PLAYING IT COOL OVER TITLE TALK

THE trademark arched left eyebrow conveyed a sense of surprise and the little chuckle a degree of amusement. So can Everton realistically be considered Premier League title contenders after moving up to second ahead of tonight’s clash with Manchester City at Goodison Park? ‘No, realistically not!’ replied Carlo Ancelotti with a smile. ‘There is a lot of competition in the Premier League. We are happy to be second now but our target is to play in Europe and that hasn’t changed.’ And beating City this evening would not alter the Everton manager’s point of view? ‘No, it will be the same,’ he insisted. ‘We have to be honest with ourselves. We are not at the same level as City. ‘We would like to be as soon as possible. We are a work in progress. We must be honest.’ In the space of 15 days, Everton have beaten Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal and a Sheffield United team fighting for their lives at the foot of the table. That was achieved at a stormy Bramall Lane thanks to Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 80th-minute strike, demonstrating Everton’s ability to grind out vital wins. They were also without Richarlison, James Rodriguez, Allan and Lucas Digne. None of them are expected to return against City. It’s a 48-hour turnaround for both clubs, but at least Everton will have the benefit of fans inside Goodison to back them. ‘It’s a big advantage for us,’ said defender Mason Holgate. ‘I said it before — it’s a surprise 2,000 fans can have that much of an impact.’ While Everton are enjoying their best start since David Moyes guided them to Champions League qualification in 2005, the stats make grim reading for Sheffield United. Having become only the third top-flight team to reach Christmas without a win, they have matched the worst start to a season by any English club. Manager Chris Wilder needs a response at Burnley tomorrow. ‘It’s embarrassing,’ said midfielder Ben Osborn. ‘It can’t go on like this.’ The hard part for the Blades is that ten of their 13 defeats have been by one goal. ‘The minimum was to get a clean sheet,’ added Osborn. ‘Then I turned round and saw Sigurdsson with that much time. I couldn’t believe it.’