Everton’s defence is proving particularly hard to breach at present.

The Toffees have kept consecutive clean sheets in wins against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea to move four points clear of the Premier League’s drop zone.

They are now playing with the tactical discipline that defined Sean Dyche’s best Burnley sides.

Ahead of today’s clash with their manager’s former club, we take a closer look at Everton’s resilient rearguard.

Only three teams — Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City — have conceded fewer Premier League goals than Everton (20) this season.

And a cursory glance at the table makes it clear the Toffees should not be as low as 17th.

The Merseysiders would be sitting 10th had they not been hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules last month.

The punishment appears to have galvanised them, though, with three successive wins following a 3-0 loss to Manchester United.

Their success has been built on strong defensive foundations as Dyche puts his stamp on a team he inherited back in January.

Everton now have a settled back four, with James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite forming an enviable centre-back partnership.

Vitaliy Mykolenko has also had an excellent season at left-back, while Ashley Young has provided plenty of experience on the opposite flank.

With midfielders Idrissa Gueye and James Garner protecting the back four, it is perhaps no surprise the Toffees are so difficult to break down.

Dyche has created a typically combative outfit on Merseyside.

Ahead of this weekend, no Premier League side had won more aerial duels than Everton (295) this season and they ranked second in the division for total tackles (322).

Dyche’s more direct approach — Everton had attempted more long passes (1,006) than any other team — is beginning to pay off too.

With an xG of 27.96, the Toffees should have scored more than their 20 goals.

But they will be encouraged by recent games after netting five times in their last two wins.

An xG conceded of 23.23 suggests Everton have benefitted from some wasteful finishing and Jordan Pickford’s shot stopping, although there is not much to suggest there will not be more clean sheets to come.

Dyche has put his principles in place at Goodison Park and the results have followed.

After last weekend’s 2-0 win over Chelsea, he said: “There are games we have dominated the chance count and won games and there are games where we haven’t and won games.

“There are games where we have defended resolutely like today, had to fight and work and do the ugly side.

“That mixture is really important over a season, never more so than recently with the news of the points [deduction] and all that business. So to find different ways of winning is very pleasing.”

Consistently keeping clean sheets will give any team the opportunity to pick up points.

Maintaining that will be a challenge at Turf Moor with Branthwaite suspended but Dyche will still be confident in his side’s ability to get the job done.