England Premier League
Sunday 1st May 2022
Kick off at 2pm BST
Venue: Goodison Park
Match Preview:
By the time this game kicks off Everton will know how Burnley have done over the weekend and the Toffees could be either 2, 3 or even 5 points behind them. Burnley equals safety this season and Everton at least on paper have a difficult game on Sunday when they take on Chelsea, the current European champions no less.
Everton’s survival this season looks like coming down to their home games and while the club have been poor overall in this campaign they have been able to pull out some solid home performances, though one word of caution they would only rank in 13th place on home games alone. Everton’s last home game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Leicester who are playing for very little. In one sense of course the result was cheered by the fans given that Everton scored the equaliser in the 92nd minute but the performance of the club was not a good one not when they have to fight for everything at this stage. Perhaps beating Manchester United here recently will help when dealing with the big six clubs and of course Chelsea are one of them.
What is worrying for Everton is that they have just 1 win from their past five games although at home they have been able to go their last three games without defeat with their last loss coming back six weeks ago against Wolves.
Chelsea are in third place with 66 points and that will be the highest position the club will finish in this season. They are currently six points clear of 4th placed Arsenal with the same games played. It’s just one defeat in their last four for Thomas Tuchel’s side but Chelsea have looked a little flat lately after exiting the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid. In midweek the Blues saw their lead cut at Manchester United as that game finished 1-1 and there was also the recent 4-2 loss at home to Arsenal. It is clear now that Chelsea will be looking ahead to the FA Cup final as they should have enough in the tank to finish in 3rd place.
Everton should heed warning though because even though Chelsea have had some troubles this season they also have the 2nd best away record in the league where they have lost just two times and won 37 points from a possible 51. With 36 goals scored they have the 2nd best goalscoring record away from home and with just 10 conceded the second best away defensive record. The Blues did see a four game winning away run come to an end as they drew against Manchester United in their last game though.
Team News:
Everton: A big blow to the club is the loss of Ben Godfrey with a thigh injury and it is touch and go whether he will return by the end of the season. Andre Gomes is ruled out with a knock but could be back in contention next week. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to return from a minor injury, Donny van de Beek is still missing with a groin injury. Tom Davies has made a significant recovery from his long term hamstring problems and although he isn’t back for this game he is being tipped to return before the end of the season. Nathan Patterson (ankle) and Andros Townsend (knee) are both out for the season.
Chelsea: Ross Barkley will be assessed ahead of this game alongside Andreas Christensen as both players have been ill. Mateo Kovacic isn’t due back until next weekend with an ankle injury and Callum Hudson-Odoi is out long term with his Achilles.
Everton vs Chelsea Head to Head:
Last season Everton won this fixture 1-0 and in fact have won their last 3 home games against Chelsea.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture the clubs drew 1-1.
It’s been 5 years since Chelsea won away to Everton.
The last three meetings have all seen under 2.5 goals.
Everton vs Chelsea Prediction:
Chelsea clearly have the better side, a world class team in fact who haven’t always been firing on all cylinders but only a fool would write them off in any game they play against any team. Chelsea are the European champions, they will be disapointed by their season, they expected to be in the hunt for the league title and it hasn’t worked out like that. There are other things off the pitch that have affected the team and especially manager Thomas Tuchel. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had consequences and club owner Roman Abramovich had to sell up, the club will likely be fine with many interested parties but it still leads to an uncertainty over the clubs immediate future. But before we get the violins out let’s remember that Chelsea are the current World Club Cup champions and are in the FA Cup and are regarded as the 3rd best club in the Premier League.
Everton’s key here is to start positively and with aggression, the fans need to see a team who is determined from the first minute. No respect can be given to teams who are technically better than you and if you can be physical and close down quick it puts off teams that have better quality on the field man for man. Everton were nothing short of superb in the first half of the Merseyside derby last weekend. Liverpool at home looked to have run out of ideas in the first 45 minutes with that game at 0-0. Everton need the same kind of performance and with being at home have more of a killer instinct and let’s face it a bit more luck from the officials.
The Toffees are in sticky situation (pardon the pun) but recent history may be on their side as well as Chelsea have not performed so good here in recent years. One thing is for certain it will be a nerve wrecking 90 minutes for the home fans.
Everton vs Chelsea Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (+1.0 Everton) at 1.625
Anytime goalscorer: Richarlison at 2.60
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