Chelsea welcome relegation battling Everton to Stamford Bridge in a vital Premier League clash.
Victory would see Chelsea climb to ninth in the table because Fulham are in FA Cup action this weekend, whilst Everton could climb as high as 12th depending upon results elsewhere.
Team News
Reece James could return for Chelsea after he missed their 3-1 win at Leicester due to illness.
Edouard Mendy (finger), Cesar Azpilicueta (concussion), N’Golo Kante (hamstring) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (back) are doubts and face late fitness tests.
Mason Mount (abdominal), Raheem Sterling (hamstring), Thiago Silva and Armando Broja (both knee) remain absent.
Everton have no fresh injury concerns to report after snatching an early winner against Brentford last weekend.
Nathan Patterson (medial ligament) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring) could return if declared match fit but Andros Townsend (knee) remains absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 18 March in a 5:30pm GMT kick-off, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea are unbeaten in three of their last five meetings against Everton (W2, D1, L2).
- Everton are winless in their last 27 league visits to Chelsea (D12, L15).
- Chelsea have conceded just one goal in their last six home matches against Everton – in which they drew 1-1 in December 2021.
- Graham Potter’s Blues have kept just one clean sheet in their last five league matches (W2, D1, L2), which came in a 1-0 home win over Leeds earlier this month.
- Everton have scored just twice in four league games away from home in 2023 (D1, L3), of which both goals came in their last away trip as they drew 2-2 at Nottingham Forest.
Prediction
A few weeks ago, Chelsea looked done and dusted in terms of any realistic possibility of fighting for any European qualification spot but with two league wins on the bounce, Graham Potter’s Blues now are back in with a decent shot at salvaging an Europa League spot.
Their performance at Leicester in particular is a real confidence boost because it was the most connected that they looked in a long time, with clinical attacking play and solid defending amidst poor marking of Kelechi Iheanacho’s equalising goal.
Everton meanwhile seem to be finding their feet in terms of intensity and energetic attacking play which paid off against Brentford – but given their awful away form this season and specifically this fixture, I feel like they have to come out and just give it a go and hope that Chelsea have an off day.
I however don’t see Chelsea dropping any points here so it will be a question of how much can Everton keep the hosts out here.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Everton
Discussion about this post