Chelsea host Everton on Monday evening at Stamford Bridge as they look to extend their ten match unbeaten run under Thomas Tuchel.
Mason Mount’s excellent goal secured a 1-0 win at Anfield on Thursday night against Liverpool to pile the pressure on Jurgen Klopp as they (Liverpool) have now lost five home games in a row for the first time in their history.
The result was arguably Tuchel’s most important yet as Chelsea climbed back into the top four and have now gained excellent momentum heading into another month of huge fixtures.
Everton enter the game high on confidence after winning their last three Premier League matches. Both Tuchel and Ancelotti have looked to establish a strong defensive core within their teams and that may come to the fore in this encounter regardless of who emerges victorious.
Takumi Minamino still remains the only outfield player to score against the Blues in ten games as Tuchel has provided stability and real resilience in Chelsea defensively.
The reverse fixture back in December saw Everton come out 1-0 winners as Gylfi Sigurdsson converted a 22nd-minute penalty after a miscommunication in the Chelsea backline.
Edouard Mendy’s clumsy challenge on Dominic Calvert-Lewin resulted in a clear penalty being awarded after a long ball over the top in behind centre backs Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma.
Team news
Thiago Silva could be fit enough to make the bench on Monday as he nears his return to full fitness. The Brazilian limped off with a muscular problem in last months 1-0 away win at Tottenham and hasn’t featured since but last week returned to light training.
Tammy Abraham could also return to the squad after missing the last two matches, the first against Manchester United for tactical reasons and the second against Liverpool with an ongoing ankle complaint. Abraham is Chelsea’s top scorer this season but has had a difficult start under Tuchel starting just three games in ten, he could replace Emerson on the bench.
Other than Abraham and Silva, Tuchel has a fully fit rest of the squad to choose from and could rotate following a hectic schedule.
Tuchel admitted on Friday N’golo Kante’s minutes must be managed as he described him (Kante) as a ‘super big’ player for the rest of the season due to injuries that hampered his playing time in particular last season.
Kante played a huge role in Thursday’s win at Anfield as he made the most tackles and interceptions than anyone else on the pitch combined and also set up Mason Mount’s winner with a fantastic long-range pass.
Playmaker James Rodriguez remains a doubt for Everton. The Colombia international has missed the last two matches with a calf problem and he may not be ready to return.
Midfielder Tom Davies and defender Seamus Coleman have also sat out the last two and need to be assessed, while centre-back Yerry Mina and midfielder Fabian Delph are still sidelined.
Thomas Tuchel on Andreas Christensen:
“Andreas stepped in in the middle of the first half against Tottenham, which was a really tough thing to do, and from the first minute, he’s been absolutely impressive. He’s brave, strong in individual challenges, brave and intelligent in the build-up, and plays with a lot of confidence.”
Match facts
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 25 Premier League home games against Everton winning 14 of them. Only against Spurs have the Blues had a longer unbeaten home run in top-flight history (27 between 1990-2016).
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel could become the first manager in Premier League history to see his side keep a clean sheet in each of his first five home games in charge in the competition.
Chelsea’s Édouard Mendy has kept six clean sheets in his first 10 home Premier League starts, the most by a goalkeeper in their first 10 home starts since Alisson kept seven for Liverpool at Anfield in 2018. The only Chelsea goalkeeper with more Premier League clean sheets in their first 10 starts at Stamford Bridge is Petr Cech (8).
Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored more Premier League goals against Chelsea than he has vs any other side in the competition (6).
Form(all competitions)
Chelsea – WDWDW
Thursday 4th March – Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea
Sunday 28th February – Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
Tuesday 23rd February – Atlético Madrid 0-1 Chelsea
Saturday 20th February – Southampton 1-1 Chelsea
Monday 15th February – Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle
Everton – WWWLL
Thursday 4th March – West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Everton
Monday 1st March – Everton 1-0 Southampton
Saturday 20th February – Liverpool 0-2 Everton
Wednesday 17th February – Everton 1-3 Manchester City
Sunday 14th February – Everton 0-2 Fulham
Predicted line ups
Chelsea – 3-4-2-1: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; James, Kante, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz, Werner.
Everton – 4-3-3: Pickford; Holgate, Godfrey, Keane, Digne; Doucoure, Allan, Davies; Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Score prediction
Chelsea 2-0 Everton