Despite having flattered to deceive for much of the campaign, Mauricio Pochettino’s side carry an impressive unbeaten streak into Matchday 33.
On Monday night, Chelsea welcome struggling Everton to Stamford Bridge, with the Toffees bidding to overcome a fresh two-point deduction.
In this preview, we discuss all the important stats, trends and analysis ahead of Monday’s showdown. It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Setting traps and pouncing 🪤@CalvertLewin14 🦋 pic.twitter.com/7jnIO1x683— Everton (@Everton) April 6, 2024
Setting traps and pouncing 🪤@CalvertLewin14 🦋 pic.twitter.com/7jnIO1x683
Let’s start with the hosts, Chelsea, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Sheffield United last weekend, conceding in the 93rd minute to throw away two points.
Still, that result extended the Blues’ unbeaten streak in the Premier League to seven matches, with three wins and four draws coming since their last loss.
It is also worth noting that Pochettino’s men have lost just one of their previous 11 games across all competitions, falling to Liverpool in the EFL Cup final back in February.
Having won six of their last eight home games in the Premier League, Chelsea are expected to get the better of Everton on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Toffees claimed a 1-0 victory over Burnley last weekend, despite seeing just 37% possession against the 10-man Clarets.
That result ended a 13-game winless run for Sean Dyche’s men, who recorded six draws and seven defeats between late December and early March.
Everton were deducted a further two points earlier this week, meaning they now sit just two points outside the relegation zone with seven games remaining.
The Toffees have been deducted a total of eight points this season. With those points, Dyche’s side would be 10 points clear of the bottom three in 14th place.
Head-to-head: Everton won the reverse fixture 2-0 back in December, meaning they have avoided defeat in four of their last five meetings with Chelsea.
That said, the Toffees have failed to win any of their previous 28 matches at Stamford Bridge, and they will likely struggle to buck that trend on Monday.
Team news: Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Christoper Nkunku, Levi Colwill, Robert Sanchez and Lesley Uhochukwu are all unavailable for the hosts.
As for Everton, Lewis Dobbin and Dele Alli remain sidelined, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Garner and Arnaut Danjuma are doubts for Monday.
Given that Chelsea have lost just one of their last 17 home games across all competitions, Everton’s return to winning ways looks set to be short lived.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that Chelsea will score over 2.5 goals on their way to dispatching Everton, who will slide deeper into relegation trouble.