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The perception outside Goodison Park is that Everton's Champions League push will falter because they are over-reliant on Romelu Lukaku's goals.

Lukaku has bagged eight in his 12 Premier League appearances for Everton and the Blues' next highest scorer is Seamus Coleman on three.

But look a little closer and Everton have plenty of players capable of shouldering the goalscoring burden with the on-loan Lukaku. The Belgian striker wasn't on the scoresheet on Saturday when they put four past Fulham and the Blues boasted four different goalscorers.

This is where their real strength lies this season and their squad is littered with match winners. Apart from Lukaku, they have nine different players with at least two Premier League goals this season.

That points to a strength in depth in their squad and even if their opponents manage to keep the big forward quiet, they have plenty of other players who can hurt them.

Leon Osman was back to his impish best against Fulham and Everton also have Ross Barkley, Kevin Mirallas, Gerard Deulofeu, Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo, who can damage teams.

Oviedo has been a revelation at left-back and it says it all that the injured Leighton Baines, as stunning as he undoubtedly is, is barely mentioned.

If you add this array of match winners to Everton's rock-solid defence, then the Blues are definitely a force to be reckoned with in the battle for the top-four places.

(Image: PA)

They are also the most consistent of the top sides, having lost just once at Manchester City, where every visiting Premier League team has been beaten this season.

They are unbeaten in the league at Goodison Park for 12 months and no visiting team enjoys travelling to this part of L4. They are unbeaten in their last nine games and there is a growing belief in what they can achieve this season.

Osman summed this mood up when he claimed the players would be disappointed if they did not finish in the Champions League places.

What is to Everton and Roberto Martinez's huge credit is that they have achieved all this by playing football. Stoke used to have a formidable unbeaten record at the Britannia, but that was because they bombarded teams. The Blues pass you to death, slicing you open with their pace and movement.

It's still going to be a tough fight for Everton and I fear their squad may not be big enough to compete with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, City and Liverpool over 38 games.

But they certainly have their best chance of clinching a top-four finish since 2005.