Chelsea take on Everton on Saturday in the Premier League.
Match Preview
Chelsea will hope to arrest a worrying slide in form when they host Everton at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues welcome the Toffees to Stamford Bridge on a run of four games without a win in all competitions.
Enzo Maresca’s side last tasted victory in the Premier League back on November 22, when they won 2-0 at Burnley. They followed that success up with a 3-0 Champions League defeat of Barcelona, but have since drawn with Arsenal and Bournemouth and suffered defeats to Leeds United and Atalanta.
Tuesday’s Champions League loss to Atalanta saw them surrender a 1-0 lead in Bergamo as the hosts fought back in the second half to prevail 2-1.
While Chelsea are still in a strong position to at least reach the knockout rounds in the Champions League, their recent slump domestically has damaged their hopes of challenging Arsenal for the Premier League title.
Indeed, the Blues are now eight points adrift of the Gunners and only one ahead of Everton, who are enjoying an excellent season under David Moyes.
Everton have lost just one of their last six games, a 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle United, with recent wins over Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest propelling them to seventh.
But the Toffees’ record at Stamford Bridge is miserable. Everton have not won an away league game against Chelsea since Paul Rideout gave them a 1-0 victory on November 25, 1994.
A former Chelsea player will attempt to help them change that, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in excellent form since his August move from west London to Merseyside.
Dewsbury-Hall scored twice in the 3-0 win over Forest, meaning he has now been involved in six goals, netting four and providing two assists.
And the midfielder is confident Everton have the mindset to continue their upward trajectory.
Of course [European competition] is a realistic ambition – I wouldn’t have come to the Club if I didn’t think it was. The size of the Club, the stadium, the ownership, everything shouts European football so it’d be wrong and a lie for me to say that isn’t a goal because it is – but we know there is a long way to go.
“We’re not even half way through the season, a lot can happen but we’re making positive steps. The past couple of years here has been tough, but we’re hoping that we’re turning a corner, there’s a mentality shift and we’re trying to push further up the table.”
Chelsea v Everton team news
Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Enzo Fernandez were all substituted during the defeat to Atalanta, but are not thought to be dealing with serious issues.
Chelsea will hope to have Cole Palmer available after he was left out of that loss, with his minutes being managed after an injury-disrupted start to his campaign.
Liam Delap will again miss out with a shoulder injury, while the game is likely to come to soon for Dario Essugo (thigh).
It’s unclear when Romeo Lavia will be able to return from a muscle problem that has kept him out since the November 5 clash with Qarabag.
Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) is still on the sidelines for Everton, who will again be minus Merlin Rohl as he continues to recover from surgery on a hernia.
Chelsea v Everton predicted line-ups
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, James, Fernandez, Neto, Pedro, Garnacho; Palmer.
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall, Gueye, Ndiaye, Grealish, Alcaraz, Beto.
How to watch Chelsea v Everton: TV and online streams
Chelsea v Everton kicks off at 3pm UK time. It will not be broadcast live in the UK.
Stats for Chelsea v Everton
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 30 Premier League home games against Everton (W17 D13). It’s their longest unbeaten home run against an opponent in their league history. Only at Leeds United have Everton had a longer run without a win (36 from 1953 to 2001).
- Everton have failed to score in 27 different Premier League games against Chelsea, including each of the last three in a row. They have only drawn a blank more often against Manchester United and Liverpool (28 each).
- Chelsea are winless in their last three Premier League matches (D2 L1) after winning five of their previous six games (L1). The Blues’ sole longer winless run under Maresca came in December and January last season (five games).
- Everton have won four of their last five Premier League games, keeping a clean sheet in each victory. Since David Moyes’ first game of his second spell on January 15 this year, only Manchester City (13), Arsenal (13) and Chelsea (11) have more Premier League victories without conceding than Everton (10).
- Chelsea have dropped more points from winning positions in Premier League home games than any other side this season (8), drawing 1-1 with Arsenal having scored first last time out. It’s already one more point than they dropped at home from winning positions in the entirety of last season (7).
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