'Could cost them!' - Gary Lineker makes Everton Premier League title claim as winning run goes on

Micah Richards has described Sean Dyche's Everton as a "joy to watch" - and Gary Lineker has joked that the 10-point Premier League deduction could cost the Blues in the title race.

Amadou Onana and Michael Keane were on target in a 2-0 win over the 52-year-old's former club as they extended their winning run to four matches. The triumph sent Everton six points clear of the drop zone and as many points off Chelsea in midtable.

The Londoners are among the clubs who suffered defeat in the current purple path at Goodison Park. Saturday's win eradicated the sanction that plunged Everton into the bottom three in mid-November.

I have mixed views on Goodison Park decision but Everton need to make the most of rare chance

Sean Dyche makes Everton pledge after double return boosts Carabao Cup plans

A Carabao Cup quarter-final awaits the Blues tonight (Wednesday) with Dyche looking to increase the feel-good factor in the blue half of Merseyside. Their combative performances and upturn in form has courted praise from various fractions, including former Premier League defender Richards.

"We said they’d had a massive improvement, Everton," he said on the Rest is Football Podcast. "You have to give them credit because they’re just a well-organised football team.

"They’ve got confidence, playing good football, all being marshalled by the manager. They’re an absolute joy to watch, that’s what’s so good."

The stern tests loom for Everton, however, with a trip to the capital this weekend where they take on Ange Postecoglu's Tottenham Hotspur before hosting Manchester City, in their return to the Premier League from Club World Cup duty on December 27.

Dyche's side end the calendar year away from home when they travel to Molineux to take