Everton vs Chelsea Preview, Team News, Likely Line-ups & Predictions

Chelsea play top-four hopefuls Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon looking to regain third place in the Premier League table.

The West Londoners have dropped to fourth after Tottenham leapfrogged them with a 2-1 win at Sunderland on Saturday but they will reclaim their place in the top three if they avoid defeat on Sunday.

Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez will be ready to face a hostile crowd at Goodison but it’s his relationship with the Chelsea faithful that he’s concerned about. After a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge the Chelsea fans are beginning to warm to the Spaniard after a return to form in recent weeks.

The European champions have scored 12 goals in their last three games with Benitez seemingly getting his team to click and another win this weekend would silence a few more doubters.

However, they will face a tough Everton side who have enjoyed an excellent start to the season. David Moyes side could in fact move above the visitors with a win and have lost just once in their last 8 games against Chelsea.

Team News

Everton will once-again have to make-do without the suspended Marouane Fellaini as the Belgian completes a three-game ban picked up against Stoke. Darron Gibson is available after seeing his suspension overturned by the FA after seeing red against West Ham.

Ramires is expected to return for Chelsea after missing the Boxing Day win at Norwich with a knee complaint. He could come back in to play alongside David Luiz in the middle of the park with the Brazilian impressing there in recent games.

Captain John Terry is still out with a knee injury while Daniel Sturridge is expected to be omitted from the squad ahead of his reported move to Liverpool.

Likely Line-ups

Recommended bets and score predictions

Everton are unbeaten at home in the league this season and have lost just once in their last 8 games against Chelsea. Our friends at Betegy have crunched the data and they too predict it will be a big ask for Chelsea to win this one away from home. The numbers suggest the game will end in a draw with both sides having a 32% chance of winning but the draw most likely at 38%:

The draw is currently 21/10 with Willian Hill which looks attractive but if you would prefer to bet on the exact scoreline, Betegy predict there is a 33% chance the game will end 1-1 which you can back at odds of 6/1.

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What would your line up be and what’s your score prediction for the game? Get involved in the comments section below.