Chelsea will be hoping to bounce back from their humiliating 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League as they travel to the Hill Dickinson Stadium to face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
Indeed, the Blues lost 3-0 at home in the second leg in midweek after a 5-2 defeat in Paris in the home leg, meaning their focus is now on qualifying for Europe's elite competition again via the league.
As for Everton, a late 2-0 defeat away to league leaders Arsenal last time out was a painful one, but the Toffees showed enough in their performance to suggest that they can also cause Chelsea problems.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our Today's betting tips page for more of our free expert Premier League predictions!
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Everton vs Chelsea key stats
- Everton have won two of their last three games (L1).
- Chelsea are on a three-match losing run in all competitions.
- Everton have lost just once in eight home H2Hs (W5, D2).
Everton vs Chelsea preview: Toffees to pile more misery on Blues?
| Everton | vs | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| 8th | Position | 6th |
| 43 | Points | 48 |
| 34 | Goals For | 53 |
| 35 | Goals Against | 35 |
| 10 | Clean Sheets | 9 |
| 14th | Home Rank | 12th |
| 4th | Away Rank | 2nd |
Everton have had a solid season under David Moyes, as they have never ben under threat of relegation like in the most recent campaigns.
The Toffees are now striving for bigger and better things, and could even reach Europe, especially with a win here against Chelsea.
Everton have not won successive home league matches all season.
They were unlucky to lose against Arsenal, having conceded the first goal in the 89th minute, and had won two on the bounce prior to that.
They will also have one eye on potentially finishing above bitter Merseyside rivals Liverpool, as they are currently just six points behind them with eight matches left to play.
As for Chelsea, it is now three defeats in a row across all competitions, and they are now under huge pressure to qualify for the Champions League.
They are currently outside of the top five, and failure to qualify could see Liam Rosenior underfire just a few months into the job.
Chelsea have scored in six successive away games.
After a bright start after taking over from Enzo Maresca, the Blues boss has struggled for positive results lately, and was recently struck with a blow involving his captain.
Indeed, Reece James has picked up a fresh injury that could see him miss a lot of the remaining season, and that loss of leadership could be detrimental to an already inexperienced and young squad.
Everton vs Chelsea form guide & betting tips
| Everton | vs | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| L-L-W-W-L | League Form | D-D-L-W-L |
| 6 | Points | 5 |
| 12th | Form Table | 14th |
| 6 | Goals For | 8 |
| 7 | Goals Against | 7 |
| L-L-W-W-L | Form (all comps) | W-W-L-L-L |
Whispers predicts: Everton 1-1 Chelsea
Bookmakers have installed Chelsea as 23/20 favourites to win, but given their poor form of late, we think Everton can get a positive result on home soil.
The Double chance - Everton or Draw at 8/11 is available with Ladbrokes, and is a bet we are happy to take.
We are also willing to back Under 2.5 goals at 21/20 with BetMGM, given that four of the last five H2Hs, including the previous three, have produced two or fewer goals.
In terms of an outside bet, Chelsea and Everton rank first and joint-second for most red cards this season with seven and four respectively, and discipline could prove a factor here given what is at stake in terms of European places.
Thus, we are happy to take a punt on A red card in the match at 6/1 with bet365.
> Double chance - Everton or Draw at 8/11 | Likelihood: Probable
> Under 2.5 goals at 21/20 | Likelihood: Possible
> A red card in the match at 6/1 | Likelihood: Outsider