Everton vs Chelsea

Goodison Park is the venue as Everton and Chelsea lock horns in an exciting Premier League showdown.

Last month’s ten-point deduction pales into insignificance compared to Everton’s impressive fighting spirit as a 3-0 demolition of Newcastle United in midweek Premier League action dragged them out of the bottom three. Unfazed by the severe punishment, Sean Dyche’s men have clocked three wins in their last four league outings (L1), moving one point clear of the relegation zone. That midweek triumph against Newcastle came as a refreshment for the Goodison crowd, marking only Everton’s second win in eight top-flight home games this season (D1, L5), along with only their second clean sheet on Merseyside. But it’s still good enough to put the ‘Toffees’ in the proper mindset ahead of Chelsea’s visit as they bid to maintain their eye-catching run of four wins in their last five top-flight H2Hs on home turf (L1).

Unlike their hosts, Chelsea delivered another sub-par performance in midweek, losing 2-1 at Manchester United only days after Mauricio Pochettino’s 10-man side defeated Brighton 3-2 at home. The visitors’ form oscillations make it almost impossible to predict which version of the ‘Blues’ will take the Goodison pitch despite finding the net in eight of their last nine matches. Defensive solidity has been a precious commodity for Chelsea this season. They’ve only managed one clean sheet during that nine-game stretch while conceding an alarming 194 after 15 league games for the first time since 2003/04. Going down at Old Trafford marked their 17th Premier League defeat in 2023, eclipsing the number of losses they suffered in 2021 and 2022 combined (16), highlighting the size of the task lying ahead of Pochettino.