On-loan forward Landon Donovan believes Everton have shown they can compete with any team in the Barclays Premier League and hopes to prove it again this weekend at home to Chelsea.
Results for the Toffees have been up and down this season and their last two reflected that as they beat leaders Manchester City a week ago but were then held to a draw by bottom side Wigan at the weekend.
But Donovan, halfway though his short-term loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, stressed in no way do the squad feel inferior to the clubs in the upper reaches of the table.
"Since the day I got here there has always been the belief this team can compete with any team in the Premier League," said the United States international, who is in his second spell with Everton having first come over from Major League Soccer two years ago.
"When I was here last time we beat Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and should have drawn at Tottenham - so there is no fear in this club.
"We have a lot of respect for Chelsea, they are one of the best teams in the world, but we feel at Goodison we have a chance and we are going to go for it.
"They've come off an interesting result against Manchester United (squandering a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 on Sunday) so it will be an interesting game to see how they respond to that.
"We feel good in how we're playing, we like how we're playing right now and our form has been pretty good so it makes for a really good match-up."
Even in the short time since his arrival in late December, Donovan has seen an improvement in performances which has helped redress some of the difficulties the club faces earlier in the season.
"In the early part, when things don't go your way, it's tough. You kind of live and die by the results sometimes," he told BBC Radio Merseyside.
"In the last couple of weeks we've played a lot better and we've got some really important results, which has been good for everyone."
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