Premier League: Is Everton’s Nightmare Becoming a Reality?

Everton vs Chelsea

While Liverpool battle with Manchester City for the 2022 Premier League title, the unthinkable may just be about to happen on the blue half of Merseyside.

Everton are in serious danger of dropping through the top flight trapdoor.

How can it be, for a club which has spent the thick end of half a billion pounds on players over the past six seasons and has Brazilian internationals and England’s goalkeeper in their ranks?

Quite simple, the Toffees have lost 19 of their 32 league games this season which leaves them in 18^th place, and only the bottom two of Watford and Norwich have lost more. And this weekend their manager Frank Lampard faces his old club when Premier League: Everton vs Chelsea is the fixture all eyes will be on. It’s a high pressure game which the London Blues also need to win to cement their Champions League place and the Everton vs Chelsea betting odds are backing an away win.          

By the time Everton play again they could be five points from safety if Burnley win away to Watford on Saturday, and that seems quite possible. The Hornets have lost their last 11 league games at home while the Clarets will head to North London with back to back wins.

Lampard’s team come into the game on the back of a Merseyside Derby defeat while Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea have a game away to Manchester United on Thursday night, but the Blues beat West Ham 1-0 last time out.  

Talking Points

Home form so crucial for the Toffees

Seven of Everton’s eight wins this season have been at Goodison Park where their passionate fans will act as the 12^th man if they get any encouragement from the 11 on the pitch. In recent weeks they have ground out 1-0 victories over Newcastle United and Manchester United, while routinely losing games on their travels. So while they need to pick up the odd point away from home, the Toffees must also find a way to win their remaining home games.          

In the aftermath of the Merseyside Derby Everton received a lot of criticism for the way they played, wasting time at every opportunity, with keeper Jordan Pickford and striker Richarlison in particular pushing the boundaries of sporting behaviour. In the end the dark arts, which Lampard may well have learned under his old boss Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, couldn’t save the Toffees.

While they were after a point against Liverpool, that may not be enough this weekend and I don’t expect the Everton vs Chelsea highlights to be a repeat of last week’s game. Of course, the Toffees will try to keep it tight to frustrate the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic and if they get a goal ahead then they will try to slow the game down.       

But with Reece James and Ben Chilwell both doubtful there is less threat coming from the flanks, though centre backs Michael Keane and Mason Holgate will need to be alert to the threat of their visitors’ quick footed creative players. And Everton won’t need reminding that Chelsea’s last two away games have resulted in a 3-2 win against Real Madrid and a 6-0 thumping of Southampton at St Mary’s.

Richarlison must stay fit

One worrying aspect of Everton’s survival campaign is the heavy reliance on Brazil striker Richarlison for their goals. He hasn’t been prolific but with eight goals and three assists he is the Toffees’ main threat. Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has three goals from 13 games and is doubtful for this game so Richarlison is the player who is most likely to breach the Chelsea defence. He scored two penalties in a recent 3-2 defeat to Burnley and bagged the injury time leveller when Everton hosted Leicester City last week.

The fact that Everton’s midfield is weakened by the absence of Tom Davies, Andre Gomes and Donny Van de Beek puts 21 year old Anthony Gordon in the position of Richarlison’s main source of support. And, of course, the controversial Brazilian needs to avoid an unnecessary suspension as he was the main player in Everton’s rather extreme time wasting tactics in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.   

History

Chelsea have won 32 of the 68 meetings with Everton in the Premier League era while the Toffees have won 14 and three have been 22 draws.  

When the two teams met in December they played out a 1-1 draw as Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite equalised after Mason Mount had given the Blues a 70^th minute lead.

In terms of recent form, Everton have won one in the last six games while Chelsea have won four from six.

Betting Tip

The Blues have won 11, drawn three and lost two on the road this season and so they are a good bet to take all three points against their under pressure hosts.

Everton must hope Burnley slip up and Leeds lose at home to Manchester City when they meet on Sunday, otherwise the pressure will be even greater; and a 1-0 win for Chelsea at SBOTOP odds of 5.80, would send a shiver down the spines of Toffees fans. I’m afraid, for the Merseysiders, that is how it will pan out.

 

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