Toffees win in Europe will help home league, Distin says

Defender Sylvain Distin believes securing progress to the knockout phase of the Europa League with a match to spare will help Everton domestically.

Toffees win in Europe will help home league, Distin says

Defender Sylvain Distin believes securing progress to the knockout phase of the Europa League with a match to spare will help Everton domestically.

A point against Wolfsburg in Germany on Thursday will guarantee qualification while victory will mean they cannot be caught at the top of Group H.

That will then relieve the pressure on their final game of the group at home to Krasnodar next month and offer manager Roberto Martinez the chance to rest players as he looks to cope with a lengthy injury list.

“We will do everything to win that game but if we get a point then we can have a bit of rotation and rest some legs,” said Distin.

“We try to win every game. It is great to think we need just a point to qualify so it will be great to get that on Thursday.

“You need to deal with it (Europa League) and how to recover as soon as possible because playing three games in a week is really tough.

“You need to learn about yourself, how to recover, and then move on to the next game.”

Everton swept aside Wolfsburg 4-1 at Goodison Park in September but Distin insisted that result should not have a bearing on this week’s encounter.

Since then, the German side have won 10 out of 13 matches, with an eight-game winning streak only ended by a 3-2 defeat to Schalke on Saturday.

“Wolfsburg have won nearly every game since then so we have to expect a completely different game over there but we love this challenge and we will be ready again,” added Distin.

“They are a really good side. Don’t be fooled by our result (against them), they play good football and I am sure they will try to prove that was a mistake and they will do everything to change that.”

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