This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Sky Sports about his weekly Premier League predictions, former Arsenal man Charlie Nicholas has hinted that Marco Silva could be sacked after the fixture against Burnley on Saturday.

What did he say?

Nicholas has alluded to the fact the Toffees could be in the bottom three come the international break. This two-week hiatus from the Premier League could perhaps give the Everton owners a lot of time to ponder Silva's future and the pundit certainly believes he will be gone should they lose at Turf Moor.

He told Sky Sports: "I never know what Marco Silva wants to achieve. When you have as many attacking options as he does, and it isn't working, you have to try something different.

"There is no rhythm to Everton, no understanding and if things pan out how I see them at Burnley, Silva could be very fortunate to still be in his seat by the international break, with Everton potentially in the bottom three."

Nicholas also stated he believes Silva will indeed lose to Burnley this weekend, which will all but close the door on his reign as Everton boss. The Scot said: "I do not go against Burnley often, and this is still the same scenario.

"Burnley are mid-table and only won two of their opening seven matches, but they are on the verge of going into the top half and have posed a threat in every game, with Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood are getting the goals again. It is an old fashioned partnership but when one scores, the other has a day off!

"They are back to being solid defensively, so I do not see trouble for them this year, and I expect them to win this game."

The inevitable doomsday

If Silva fails to win and those below them succeed in victory, it will indeed place the Toffees in the drop zone, eight games into the season. This defeat would prove to be a worse start to the campaign than the 2017-18 season, where Sam Allardyce came to the rescue after Ronald Koeman left the club in the relegation zone following the 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal.

Regardless of the outcome, the former Watford man is under extreme pressure. Farhad Moshiri made it clear once he bought into the club in 2016 that his intentions were to take the Toffees to the Champions League. However, five managers in and it seems like once again the owner is back to square one.

Not only is Silva yet to guarantee European football, the club are in a worse place than when they sacked Roberto Martinez for finishing 12th and reaching two domestic cup semi-finals in that season.

Silva cannot afford to lose this one, and even if he leaves Turf Moor with all three points, there is still the lingering feeling the axe is coming.