The Dane has missed our past two matches with illness but returned to team training in the build-up to today’s meeting with the Toffees and will be hoping to play his part on an unhappy hunting ground for the Blues of late.

While his recovery was on course in midweek, the medical team decided it was best he didn’t make the trip to Manchester and instead focused on getting back to full health for our second trip to the north-west in four days. Following that decision, the defender is feeling back to his usual self and looking forward to helping the team once again.

‘I’m doing good and feeling fresh again after illness,’ he reported. ‘My energy levels weren’t there so we made the decision for me to stay at home but now I’ve recovered and feel ready for the weekend.

‘That was always the plan, to get some good sleep and get my energy levels up. Now I’m training with the team again and hopefully I’ll be fit enough to play.’

He followed our 1-1 draw with United on television at home and agreed with the general consensus that we should have taken all three points home from Old Trafford. Marcos Alonso’s volley was cancelled out by Cristiano Ronaldo but Christensen felt we created enough to be victorious.

The point left us six clear of fourth-placed Arsenal, although for the second successive game we were able to knock a challenger off course in their pursuit of catching us and United, like West Ham, are now mathematically unable to finish above the Blues in the table.

‘We deserved to win,’ he said of the game. ‘I don’t know if you get a different feeling when you’re at home compared to being at the stadium but I thought we put in a brilliant performance, created loads of chances and we should have won the game.

‘It was a good opportunity to extend the gap [to Arsenal] but at the same time we’re all very confident in what we’re doing. We go into every game the same, trying to win and right now it’s about having that third place secured. Everyone here believes in that so we’re just looking forward.’

In order to move forward, honest assessments must be made on recent results that have been less than favourable. Christensen himself was at fault for one of Arsenal’s four goals at Stamford Bridge earlier in the month, while Thomas Tuchel has bemoaned a pattern of individual errors costing his side of late.

The 26-year-old admits that defensive faults have been exploited by recent opponents and the only way to overcome those is by sticking together.

‘There have been some personal mistakes which can happen with bad luck,’ he explained. ‘In the first half of the season, teams didn’t score with the chances they had but at the moment they do. We’re making mistakes and we’re getting punished for it.

‘Defensively we’ve always been strong and it’s the fundamental thing we go to, to be strong in defence and then we know the quality we have going forward. We’re almost guaranteed to get chances in games and then if we take them it’s up to us.

‘We still go into games believing we’re going to keep a clean sheet. At the moment, it hasn’t happened but mentally that’s where we need to be. In the last few weeks we’ve not been up to our level so now it’s just about accepting that it’s happened, look forward and get back to what we’ve done so well up to these last few weeks.

‘It’s just about keeping our heads down and keep working through. There’s nothing else we can do other than learn from it and hopefully stop making these small personal mistakes.’

Nevertheless, Christensen feels the campaign as a whole has been a positive one, with the Blues lifting both the Super Cup and Club World Cup already, with an FA Cup final against Liverpool still to come.

‘It’s been good,’ he continued. ‘Personally, I’ve played loads of games and we started off by winning a trophy.

‘We started the season very strongly but obviously we wanted to be more competitive in the league than we have been. Now, if we take another trophy in the FA Cup final, it will be a good season for us.’

Everton’s position in the table is even more precarious following Burnley’s victory on Saturday afternoon and Christensen acknowledges that the home faithful will be doing everything possible to make a difference in such a big game for the Toffees.

With the prospect of facing some familiar faces in the opposition dugout, not just Frank Lampard but Ashley Cole, Chris Jones and Joe Edwards too, the Dane is relishing such a big occasion.

‘Goodison Park is always a difficult place to go, everyone knows that,’ he added. ‘The atmosphere and energy around the stadium makes it so tough to go there and play your own game.

‘It's great and it makes you excited going onto the pitch. It’s very loud and they’re very behind their team. They always come out with energy and never back down so it’s just so difficult to go there.

‘Frank obviously knows us very well, all of the players. Even some of the coaching staff I’ve known for years so it’s going to be a special game. I’m sure it will be a good atmosphere outside the pitch, and on the pitch both sides will go for it so it will be an exciting game.’