We all know there isn't much to the release of the Premier League fixtures in broad terms, Everton will play every other side in the division twice before their 2022/23 campaign comes to an end.
But, on the other hand, the order or some of these matches could easily play a factor in different sides building up momentum over the course of a season. You generally don't want a lot of matches against the perceived "better" teams in the league in close proximity to each other, for example.
And for the most part, looking at the release of fixtures on Thursday, Everton do seem to have avoided that. Their start to the season does look tough, welcoming both Chelsea and Liverpool to Goodison Park while facing a trip to Arsenal all inside the opening seven matches of the term.
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That could very well be a baptism of fire for the new system Frank Lampard will want to instil in his new squad in the early stages of the term. New signings might have to settle in quickly to help the Blues hit the ground running.
But perhaps the most defining run of the campaign could, again, be right at the very end. Last season, it was Everton's desire and tenacity in their last portion that helped drag themselves out of the relegation zone and secure survival.
Everyone with a royal blue persuasion will hope those circumstances are certainly not repeated this time around. Nobody wants to be fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table once more.
However, you still want something to be fighting for in the closing stages of a season. Even if it's just to show as much improvement as possible in terms of league position, all of it could be crucial for where Lampard and Kevin Thelwell want to take the club in the future.
And perhaps the last eight matches of the term could provide a platform for that to take place.
Everton play only one of last season's top six in that last bracket of the season, with Man City visiting Goodison Park in mid-May. In all likelihood they will be embroiled in a battle for the Premier League title, so it will be interesting to see if the destination of that trophy will be wrapped up by that stage.
Aside from that the Blues come up against two promoted sides in Fulham and Bournemouth, both at home, and the five teams that finished 8th-12th in last season's table - Leicester City, Brighton, Wolves, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace.
If we're talking about realistic aims for Everton's season as things stand, which is hard to quantify at this point seeing as we don't yet know how the transfer window will pan out, then an incremental improvement is surely on the agenda. Nothing major, nothing sweeping at this stage - slow and steady will win this race for the club right now, who have been notoriously impatient in the recent past with things like this.
So, avoiding a relegation battle becomes the main focus of the campaign, but aside from that then securing a place in the Premier League's mid-table could easily be on the agenda. That would provide good footing for the Blues to then be able to take that forward into the next season, with the hope of slowly progressing towards regular top-half finishes and European battles once again.
It's all got to start somewhere and the final eight matches of the 2022/23 Premier League season could prove that. Five of the teams they faced finished in that mid-table bracket last season, and that could be where Everton want to break into.
To do so, they will probably have to pick up some strong results against at least some of those opponents. And, you'd expect, they can't afford to slip up against any of the promoted sides at home either - something which has plagued recent seasons.
All-in-all, yes we know that Everton will play every side twice over the course of the campaign. But the actual fixture list could have provided Lampard and his side with some interesting opportunities to build form.
