LONDON - Everton captain Phil Jagielka says Tuesday's FA Cup third round replay at West Ham offers his side the perfect chance to step up their recent mini-revival.
Everton's Phil Jagielka (C) has a goal disallowed during their English Premier League match against Manchester City, at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north-west England, on January 10, 2015
Roberto Martinez's side have endured a disappointing season which sees them languishing at the wrong end of the Premier League, but they have shown signs of getting back on track with a pair of battling draws over the last week.
A 1-1 draw against champions Manchester City on Saturday was the second time in four days they had come from behind at Goodison Park after earning a late FA Cup third round equaliser against West Ham in midweek.
The City result ended a run of four successive league defeats but England centre-back Jagielka knows victory against the Hammers at Upton Park in Tuesday's replay is essential to their hopes of a more successful second half of the campaign.
"A point was a decent result. It stops the rot but we still know we have to go out and win games and get ourselves in a better league position," Jagielka said.
"A draw against the champions was never going to be a bad result but the manner of getting back into the game against West Ham on Tuesday and the manner in which we performed and kept on going against City will make them (this week's draws) really important going forward.
"We hoped getting a last-minute goal to keep us in the cup was the turning point and we have built on that.
"Now it depends how the next game goes, we need to go and win that game at West Ham.
"We know it is going to be an important point for our season and we have to make sure it is a positive one.
"The cup is a lot more cut-throat. We will take any sort of win to be in the next round."
Everton's reward for a win in east London would be a trip to either League One promotion chasers Bristol City or fellow third tier side Doncaster, with their replay also scheduled for Tuesday.
- Vulnerable Spurs -
On Wednesday, Tottenham will look to bounce back from their surprise 2-1 defeat at struggling Crystal Palace when they face Burnley for the right to host Leicester in the fourth round.
Mauricio Pochettino's side squandered the lead at Selhurst Park in a loss that dented their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.
And, despite Burnley's lowly position in the league, the north Londoners can't take anything for granted against Seam Dyche's side, who secured a crucial 2-1 win over QPR on Saturday.
Premier League high-flyers Southampton will try to avoid a giant-killing when they travel to second tier Ipswich.
League One side Bradford face Championship strugglers Millwall at Valley Parade on Wednesday, with the prize for the winner a glamour tie at Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.
Fixtures
3rd rd replays
Tuesday
Bristol City v Doncaster, Chesterfield v Scunthorpe, West Ham v Everton, Wolves v Fulham
Wednesday
Bradford v Millwall, Ipswich v Southampton, Tottenham v Burnley