Chelsea would love to enter the final international break of the season without doing any further damage to their Champions League hopes, as they take on Everton this weekend.
It’s been a torrid period for the Blues on and off the field, with three consecutive defeats hindering their top-five charge domestically and seeing them bow out of the competition they’re desperate to qualify for next season.
A 3–0 victory for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night meant the holders progressed at Chelsea’s expense by a chastening 8–2 aggregate margin.
Liam Rosenior’s honeymoon phase is very much in the rearview mirror, and the relatively novice head coach will suddenly find himself on the hot seat if his team are beaten on their first trip to Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Toffees have found it hard settling into their grander amphitheatre, with their form on the road sustaining their European dream. However, Everton were beaten on their travels last time out, losing 2–0 late on at Arsenal. As a result, they gave up ground on the cluster of teams around them, who are also in the mix for Europa League and Conference League berths.
Victory for the hosts on Saturday evening would see them temporarily leapfrog Brentford in the table and close to gap on the sixth-place Blues to two points.
Everton vs. Chelsea Score Prediction
Blues Stop the Rot With Stalemate
Enzo Maresca oversaw a 2–0 win for Chelsea in the reverse fixture, and his successor would kill for a repeat this weekend. The Blues boss must be feeling the pressure after a woeful run of results, and the nature of their defeat to PSG in the week has many wondering what exactly the point of BlueCo’s sporting project in west London is.
They’re seemingly lightyears away from Europe’s aristocracy, with Club World Cup success last summer potentially deluding supporters into believing that Chelsea were heading somewhere.
Their world has come crashing back down, with many now convinced that Rosenior is not the man to lead them forward. Those calls will undoubtedly be rife if the Blues suffer on Merseyside.
- Chelsea’s record at Everton: A different stadium, sure, but dropping points in this neck of the woods would hardly be novel for the Blues. Since 2018, Chelsea have won just once away at Everton.
- Everton’s issues settling in: The hosts are the fourth-best-performing team away from home in the Premier League this season, but they’ve won just five of their 15 games at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, drawing another four. The Toffees have scored 18 and conceded 19 in these games.
- Visitors out to stop the bleeding: Dropping points would be sub-optimal, but a fourth straight defeat would be catastrophic for Rosenior’s Blues. With both teams potentially without key defenders, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see a cautious affair bereft of chaos on Merseyside. Rosenior may well be content with getting a point and having the chance to reset during the international break.
Prediction: Everton 0–0 Chelsea
Everton Predicted Lineup vs. Chelsea
There are concerns over James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, who both missed last week’s defeat to Arsenal through injury. There’s hope that the former, in particular, will be back on Saturday evening, given that he’s only dealing with a knock.
The club are likely to be more cautious with Branthwaite, given his recent fitness woes. The return of Tarkowski would allow James Garner to slide back into midfield, where he’s shone for the Toffees this season.
Further up the pitch, the hosts are still without Jack Grealish and Charly Alcaraz, while Tyrique George is ineligible to face his parent club. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be keen to impress against his former employers.
Everton predicted lineup vs. Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry.
Chelsea learned ahead of the return leg with PSG that they’d be without their captain, Reece James, for the next few weeks due to a hamstring injury, and Trevoh Chalobah was another critical defensive casualty on Tuesday night.
The Englishman has been a near ever-present in Chelsea’s starting lineup this season, but an ankle sprain means Rosenior will have to make do without him for the next six weeks.
The Blues are still without long-term absentee Levi Colwill, and there are doubts over ill duo Malo Gusto and Benoît Badiashile. If the latter doesn’t recover in time, Jorrel Hato may slide into a central defensive role, having often deputized for Marc Cucurella in Chelsea blue.
Jamie Gittens is more likely to make his comeback from a hamstring injury after the international break, but Estêvão was back in Rosenior’s squad on Tuesday after a spell out.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Everton (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernández, Neto; Pedro.
What Time Does Everton vs. Chelsea Kick Off?
- Location: Liverpool, England
- Stadium: Hill Dickinson Stadium
- Date: Saturday, March 21
- Kick-off Time: 5:30 p.m. GMT / 1:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT
- Referee: Sam Barrott
- VAR: Paul Howard
How to Watch Everton vs. Chelsea on TV, Live Stream
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Country |
TV Channel/Live Strean |
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United States |
USA Network, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO, UNIVERSO NOW, SiriusXM FC |
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United Kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League |
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Canada |
DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 5 Canada, DAZN Fast |
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Mexico |
TNT Sports, Max Mexico, TNT Go |