Chelsea will be desperate to get back to winning ways in a key clash in the race for Europe.
Chelsea head to Everton with Liam Rosenior still confident his side can have a positive end to the season following difficult results in Europe and the Premier League.
The Blues were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday as Paris Saint-Germain completed an 8-2 aggregate win in the last-16 tie with a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
That chastening evening followed a frustrating 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle United, which damaged Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea sit sixth, three points outside the top four and a point behind Liverpool in fifth. Fifth is almost certainly set to be good enough for a Champions League spot despite a tough week in the competition for Premier League teams and, if Aston Villa finish in the top five and win the Europa League, sixth will also be good enough.
As such, Chelsea are still in a position where they can achieve their goals, with the FA Cup still giving Rosenior’s men a shot at silverware.
And he retains optimism ahead of Chelsea’s first trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I think most clubs, most teams go through these moments in the season,” Rosenior told his pre-match press conference. “I would say it’s what I’ve seen, not just today, yesterday, after the game, during the game, in the last minutes when we’re down to 10 men, I didn’t see a lack of effort.
“In a difficult moment, I’ve got a very resilient group, I’ve got very resilient staff and we know we need to put things right. You can’t quantify damage until you’re at the end of the season. What we have, we have eight huge games left in the Premier League, plus a cup competition that we want to win. So we’re still in a place where we can affect things in a positive way.”
Everton, meanwhile, are just five points behind Chelsea and can afford to harbour Champions League ambitions of their own.
The Toffees have won just five of their 15 home matches in a difficult first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with their away form propelling them up the table.
Only Arsenal have claimed more points on the road than Chelsea’s 27 this season.
However, with Chelsea nursing injuries and coming off a bruising defeat, Everton may view this game as an ideal opportunity in which to deliver a marked improvement in their fortunes at their new home.
Team news for Everton v Chelsea
Defenders James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite could return for Everton, but Charly Alcaraz is out with an unspecified injury. Seamus Coleman has a knock.
Chelsea are set to be without Trevoh Chalobah because of an ankle injury suffered in the defeat to PSG. Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiahshile are dealing with illnesses, while goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen has had surgery on a groin issue. Reece James (hamstring), Jamie Gittens (hamstring) and Levi Colwill (knee) remain out.
Predicted line-ups for Everton v Chelsea
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Acheampong, Sarr, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro.
Where to watch Everton v Chelsea: TV and online streams
Everton v Chelsea kicks off at 5:30pm UK time. It will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. It is also available to stream via Sky Go.
Stats for Everton v Chelsea
- Everton have lost just one of their last eight Premier League home games against Chelsea (W5 D2), going down 1-0 in August 2022.
- Following their 2-0 win in December, Chelsea are looking to complete the league double over Everton for the first time since 2016-17.
- Everton have failed to score in 12 of their last 19 Premier League games against Chelsea, including each of the last four in a row. Overall they’ve drawn a blank in 28 Premier League meetings with the Blues, only doing so more against Manchester United (29).
- Following their 2-0 win against Burnley at the start of the month, Everton are looking to win consecutive Premier League games at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time. This is the latest into a Premier League campaign they’ve not won consecutive home games since 2014-15 (April).
- Chelsea have lost two of their last three Premier League games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (W5 D6). Having kept a clean sheet in their first league game under Liam Rosenior (2-0 v Brentford), the Blues have now conceded in each of their last eight.
- Chelsea’s João Pedro has been involved in eight goals in his last eight appearances away from home in all competitions (7 goals, 1 assist). His 11 away goals in total in all competitions this season is the most by a Chelsea player in a campaign since 2019-20 (Tammy Abraham, 12).
Prediction for Everton v Chelsea
Everton have struggled at home this season, but Chelsea do not look like a team in a position to make it another difficult evening at the Hill Dickinson. A draw would probably be more satisfactory for the hosts.
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