Chelsea vs. Everton 05.11.2016 / England Premier
On Saturday November fifth, Chelsea host
Everton at Stamford Bridge, with the hosts just one point off the top
of the Premier League. After a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Arsenal,
Chelsea have won their last four Premier League matches and haven’t
conceded a goal in any of them. Their winning run has vaulted them up
to fourth in the Premier League, just one point off the three way tie at
the top between Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
After a run of four Premier League
matches without a win, Everton got back on track last week with a 2-0
win over West Ham. While they had a poor run of results, highlighted by
the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth and the 2-1 loss to Burnley, Everton have
started the season well, with 18 points from 10 games, five off top and
only four off Chelsea.
Team News
Chelsea have had a pretty good season on
the injury front. Their injury situation could get even better this
weekend with both Kurt Zouma and Cesc Fabregas in contention to return
from their injuries, according to Physioroom.com.
Everton have quite a few injury issues
to deal with. Mohamed Besic, Tyias Browning, and Matthew Pennington
will all miss out through long term injuries, according to
Physioroom.com. Both James McCarthy and Leighton Baines look set to be
out for this match as well, but could be back after the upcoming
international break. Arouna Kone and Maarten Stekelenburg both look set
to take late fitness tests and will have their fitness determined
closer to kick off.
Interesting Statistics
- Chelsea are winless in their last three matches against Everton in all competitions after winning seven of their previous nine against the Toffees.
- Chelsea have a +10 goal difference at home, compared to only a +2 goal difference away from home.
- Diego Costa has scored more than a third of Chelsea’s Premier League goals this season, with eight of the team’s 21.
- The tie features a clash between two of the top three goal scorers in the league this season.
- Diego Costa has scored eight goals, most in the league so far, while Romelu Lukaku has scored seven goals, tied with Sergio Aguero for second.
Key Players
Chelsea: Eden Hazard
Despite a poor 2015/2016, Eden Hazard is
still one of the jewels of the Premier League. The Belgian is a
superstar on his day and can play as well as anyone in the league. With
three goals and an assist in his last three Premier League matches,
Hazard is looking like the player that led Chelsea to the league title
and won player of the year. When he is playing at his top level, Hazard
can win games by himself.
Everton: Romelu Lukaku
Another Belgian, after a slow start to
the season Lukaku has been on a tear recently with eight goals or
assists in his last seven matches. The former Chelsea man is one of the
best goalscorers in the league and has formed a good connection with
new boy Yannick Bolasie. Bolasie has assisted a Lukaku goal four times
already this season, more than any other combination in the league.
Everton have been much improved, but so have Chelsea. Chelsea’s defense has been rock solid since switching to the 3-4-3. It’ll be tough for Everton to break down that defence and Chelsea have shown that, while it can take them a while, they can break down a tough defence.
