Everton have a minor dilemma as they prepare to face Manchester City tomorrow. Win and they give derby rivals Liverpool a major boost in the title hunt, while giving themselves a small chance of nabbing Top Four place.
However, they will have to do without Man City loanee Gareth Barry who is ineligible to play against his former club.
The former England international has had a strong season in the middle of the park for the Toffees. But of more interest to an Irish audience is the form of midfield partner James McCarthy.
The 23-year-old followed Roberto Martinez from Wigan to Goodison Park in the summer and it is good to see a young Ireland international playing at the heart of a progressive football team.
But how has McCarthy improved compared to last season?
Statistics from Squawka show that McCarthy has made some improvements in the attacking department - in terms of creating opportunities for team-mates. Last season he created fewer than one chance per game. But now that figure stands at 40 chances created in 32 games - a slight but not insignificant total.
Indeed among Toffees central midfielders, he has created the most chances, while his pass completion is joint-best along with Leon Osman in the midfield department.
He has also provided three assists, which is one more than last season.
His pass length is also far more ambitious than at Wigan where his passes were an average of 17 metres in distance. That has shot up to 20 metres on average at Everton.
Interestingly he seems more dynamic when one looks at the parts of the pitch where he now creates his chances as these Squawka graphics reveal:
Top Squawka graphic shows Wigan, while the Everton graphic below shows him create far more chances from the right side of the pitch than he did with the Latics
Defensively he made four errors, two of which led to goals last season, while he has made half that number of total errors this season.
His tenacity is also more evident with a significant rise in tackles per game. In 2012/13 he made about 2.5 tackles per match. But this is now verging on 3.5 as he adjusts to a team that presses more aggressively than Wigan.
Indeed his tackles per game puts him just outside the Top 10 in the Premier League, whereas he was on the fringes of the Top 30 last season.
