Everton go into a vital weekend in their fight to reach Europe and midfielder Leon Osman admits they face a difficult conclusion to the season.The last thing David Moyes' men wanted ahead of their tough visit to relegation-haunted Birmingham on Saturday was to find Portsmouth suddenly hot on their heels.

And with the visit of title-chasing Chelsea next Thursday, the Blues know that nothing less than three points at St Andrews will do.

Midfielder Leon Osman, who scored last Sunday's winner against Derby, said: "We have put the pressure back onto Liverpool. While we have the chance to catch them we will go for it.

"We will keep fighting and see where that takes us. We have some difficult games left. Every match we have left is against teams who are fighting for something. Birmingham first on Saturday, and they will be desperate for points, and then we have Chelsea at Goodison.

"It won't be getting any easier, not with teams below us fighting to catch up as well. But we aim to enjoy the last five games and give it everything we have."

Defender Joleon Lescott agrees, saying: "We are only three points behind Liverpool with five games to go, and both of us have tough games.

"If we win at Birmingham it will put a lot of pressure on Liverpool when they play 24 hours later."

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp underlined how keen he is to see his side catch Everton, saying: "We aim to keep going. There will be no let-up just because we are in the cup final. We will try to win all our games because we want to catch Everton and qualify for Europe from our league position."

If Everton stumble at St Andrews, Pompey could cut their lead over them to just one point if they can win at home to Newcastle.

So there is every incentive for Everton to win at Birmingham, to cut Liverpool's lead to just goal difference while keeping out of the clutches of Portsmouth.

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