'Punter's nightmare' - Paul Merson and Chris Sutton…

'Punter's nightmare' - Paul Merson and Chris Sutton split on outcome of Everton v Tottenham match

Everton's relegation battle resumes on Monday evening, with television pundits split on how Sean Dyche's side will fare.

The Blues host Tottenham Hotspur under the lights at Goodison Park, in the knowledge that their home form will be absolutely crucial to securing another season of top-flight football.

But despite parting company with Antonio Conte last week, Spurs are fourth in the table and desperately trying to hold onto their Champions League qualification spot until the end of the season, with other clubs breathing down their neck.

Managerial duties have been passed to Conte's former number two, Cristian Stellini, and despite predicting very different results, both Paul Merson and Chris Sutton do not see how big a difference the interim boss can make between now and the end of the season.

Writing in his weekly sportskeeda predictions column, Merson said: "The one thing I don't get about Antonio Conte's sacking is that his number two is in charge. I don't understand that at all. This is a hard game, and you'll know if the players are behind their manager this weekend. It's going to be a battle on Monday night - Everton will make it one. We'll see if Tottenham are up for it.

"If Tottenham can win this game, you'd hope that they can follow it up. I think they need to win their next three matches to make it to the top four. This is a big game for the players at the club.

"Harry Kane's future at Tottenham will be his call. He isn't guaranteed a trophy at a club like Manchester United - they went a long time without winning one. It depends on who Tottenham appoint as their next manager. I wouldn't be surprised if Kane stayed at the club. The lad deserves to take a call on what he wants.

"This game is a punter's nightmare. If Everton won, you wouldn't be shocked. If Tottenham won, you wouldn't be shocked. If this game was a draw, you definitely wouldn't be shocked. Tottenham can be lethal on the counter so believe it or not, I'm going to back Tottenham to win this game."

Merson predicted a 3-1 away win for Tottenham, but it was a different story as far as BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton was concerned.

Predicting a 2-1 Everton win in his own column, Sutton said: "I ended up changing my mind three times about which way this one would go. It really is impossible to call. With Tottenham, this is where we find out whether they are better off without Antonio Conte, who had to go after his rant about his players and the club following their draw with Southampton.

"Spurs can't really expect a new manager bounce under acting head coach Cristian Stellini, who was Conte's number two, and I don't think we will see them doing too much very differently.

"Their inconsistency makes them so difficult to predict. Just looking at their attack, Son Heung-min has been poor all season, to the extent he apologised this week for letting Conte down. But then they've got Harry Kane, who can score from anywhere and could easily wallop a couple more in on Monday.

"This is huge for Spurs in terms of making the top four but Everton need the victory even more because they have one of the toughest run-ins of any of the teams down at the bottom. They have picked up a couple of away draws under Sean Dyche and are playing with more purpose now but they have still not won on the road since 1 October so their form at Goodison is going to be vital. It has to happen here, basically.

"We saw that desperation from them when they beat Brentford in their last home game and the intensity they showed to win that game might just get them over the line here too. Southampton absolutely dominated Spurs in Conte's last game in charge. I suspect Dyche has seen that and is thinking that Everton can really get at them as well."

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