Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert believes his team have coped well to battle through an "incredible" start to the season which has seen them already face five of the Barclays Premier League's big six.
Villa were in relegation trouble for much of last season but have started the current campaign brightly, picking up 10 points from eight games, including wins over Arsenal and Manchester City.
They lost 2-0 to a classy Tottenham side last Sunday and have also squared off with Liverpool and Chelsea already - losing narrowly in both.
On Saturday they will be under more pressure to get a positive result as they go up against Everton.
"The thing for us is that in our start to the season we've played five of the top six which is an incredible thing to come through," said Lambert.
"You need a bit of respite at certain times from that. You can't keep going like that.
"The only one we haven't played yet is Manchester United so when you look at it like that, our points tally is pretty decent.
"I know this will be a hard game as Everton have been going well."
Everton pose a significant threat themselves after a solid start to life under Roberto Martinez, who succeeded Manchester United-bound David Moyes in the summer.
"They have a different way of playing now," Lambert said. "It'll be a hard game but we're at home.
"They've have got off to a great start but those players have been there for a long time under David.
"They're ahead of us regarding the stability they've had for a number of years now. Look at their defence and it's been there for years, the goalkeeper has been there for years, all the lads have known the football club for that length of time.
"They're ahead of us on that side of it, the stability. They were there under David and he did great at Everton. It was probably a good club to go in at that time but Roberto has done well."
Source: PA
