Everton v Chelsea: Team news, predictions & odds
Our match pack for Everton v Chelsea includes team news, statistics, manager quotes, odds and our prediction.
The game kicks off at 1405 BST at Goodison Park, live on Sky Sports 1.
Everton v Chelsea: Manager quotes
Ronald Koeman (Chelsea)
On Romelu Lukaku's future: "I don't know. We will see what happens at the end of the season.
"We like to keep the best players but we know that it is difficult. I don't know if it is possible to keep them at the moment.
"Then we have to analyse the team, (to see) what we need to improve for next season. I think we need, offensive-wise, more players who score more goals because the difference between Lukaku and the rest of the players is too big."
On the rest of the season: "Maybe we need to change our mentality a bit because I felt a bit less intensity in the game last week, maybe a bit less motivation.
"It is always difficult if you have already the seventh position in the pocket and maybe they get a little bit more holiday or end-of-season feeling.
"That is what I don't like. We like to keep momentum at home, we are strong at home and we know what we need (to do) to face the best team of the Premier League."
Antonio Conte (Chelsea)
Asked if he would rather have Diego Costa or Romelu Lukaku, Conte replied: "As I've said before, for me my players are the best in the world.
"I wouldn't change my players with any other players.
"I think that Lukaku for sure is a really good player, he's scoring a lot of goals this season.
"You have to pay him great attention but it's always the same, we study the opponent and we try to find the best solution to stop them, about single players and about the team.
"Yes we must pay great attention to Lukaku, but also Everton's other players. They have a lot of good players with good technique."
Asked if Chelsea have an easier run to the end of the season than second-placed Tottenham, Conte said: "I don't think so."I think that in this part of the season each game is very tough for many different reasons.
"You have a lot of pressure, you know you have to win.
"For sure when you have to play with this target, it's not simple, it's not easy. But not only for us, also for Tottenham.
"But we are ready, and we have worked hard to arrive here to fight for the title.
"And for this reason we want to reach this target with all our strength.
"We have to do our job with the right pressure but at the same time to enjoy it.
"I think it's not an advantage for us to play before Tottenham this weekend.
"But at the end of the season when you have two teams in contention for the title, I think you must have the two fixtures at the same hour, on the same day - not to give the advantage to one team or the other.
"When you can see there are two or three teams very close in the fight, I think you have to find a solution for this. Then you can really see who is the best."
Everton v Chelsea: Team news
Everton have Enner Valencia available for Sunday's Premier League clash with Chelsea after the striker was ineligible to face parent club West Ham last week.
None of the Toffees' injured stars are ready to return, however.
Midfielder Muhamed Besic is building up his fitness after a year out with a serious knee injury but James McCarthy (hamstring), Ramiro Funes Mori, Yannick Bolasie (both knee), Seamus Coleman (broken leg) and Aaron Lennon all remain sidelined.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte can pick from a full strength squad.
The Blues manager is expected to continue with his tried and tested regulars as his side edge ever close to the Premier League title.
That means the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa should lead Chelsea's challenge at Goodison Park.
Teams
Everton (from): Robles, Holgate, Williams, Jagielka, Baines, Schneiderlin, Gueye, Barkley, Davies, Mirallas, Lukaku, Stekelenburg, Pennington, Kenny, Barry, Williams, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Kone, Valencia.
Chelsea (from): Courtois, Begovic, Fabregas, Zouma, Alonso, Kante, Hazard, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Pedro, Costa, Matic, Willian, Batshuayi, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Luiz, Eduardo, Aina, Ake.
Everton v Chelsea: Our prediction
Our Nick Hext writes... Chelsea’s trip to Everton before the north London derby gives Antonio Conte’s men a chance to go seven points clear of Tottenham at the summit.
The Premier League leaders have bounced back from the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United with back-to-back 4-2 victories, over Spurs in the FA Cup and at home to Southampton in the top-flight.
Chelsea have only lost two of their last 29 matches so there’s no reason to expect an implosion in the title run-in after getting back on track quickly following the Red Devils loss.
The Blues have won on the road at Leicester, Wolves (FA Cup), West Ham, Stoke and Bournemouth since the turn of the year so I’m more than happy to have a slice of the odds-against available for the away win at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Everton are on an impressive seven-match winning run at home but they’ve fallen to convincing defeats at Tottenham and Liverpool in the last couple of months so I think Chelsea will provide too big a step up in class.
The continuing selection problems for boss Ronald Koeman are also a concern.
Maarten Stekelenburg and Joel Robles have both failed to impress as a first-choice Premier League goalkeeper and the ever-changing cast of defenders because of injury has been a big issue for the Toffees.
Everton did manage a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw at West Ham last time out but they won’t be able to keep out Chelsea unless there’s a drastic improvement from that performance.
Conte has rotated his squad impressively in recent games and 13 goals in their previous five outings show that the Blues are primed to build up their advantage at the top of the table.
This will definitely be the last chance to back the leaders at odds-against in the Premier League this season, they host Middlesbrough, Watford and Sunderland and travel to West Brom before the campaign concludes.
I think the price is right to support Chelsea at 15/14 with the goals flowing for the table-toppers.
Prediction: Everton 1-3 Chelsea
Everton v Chelsea: Opta facts
Everton have won five of their last seven Premier League games against Chelsea at Goodison Park (L2), two more than they recorded in their previous 17 in the competition.
Only against Tottenham (92) have Chelsea scored more Premier League goals than versus Everton (80).
Diego Costa has been directly involved in six goals in four Premier League appearances against Everton (four goals, two assists).
Following his midweek brace against Southampton, Diego Costa now has 19 Premier League goals in 2016-17. Without these goals, Chelsea would be 15 points worse off than they are and no player has seen their goals win more points for their side than Costa this season.
Cesc Fabregas has had a hand in eight goals in his last seven games against the Toffees in the top-flight (four goals, four assists).
Romelu Lukaku has failed to score in all five of his previous outings against his former club Chelsea in the Premier League, attempting 12 shots (incl. blocks) in the process.
Overall during his Premier League career, Romelu Lukaku has scored against 23 of the 29 different teams he’s faced in the competition. This season alone he’s scored against 13 different teams in the Premier League.
Romelu Lukaku has scored in all nine of Everton’s competitive home matches in 2017 so far (14 goals). The only player to go on a longer streak of scoring in consecutive home matches for Everton is Dixie Dean; who scored in 12 successive home games for the Toffees between October 1930 and February 1931.
Everton are currently enjoying an eight-game winning run at home – their longest such streak in the Premier League. They last had a longer run in the top flight between December 1986 and April 1987 (10 wins).
Chelsea have won 78 points from their 33 Premier League games so far. This is the eighth occasion that a side has won 78+ points from 33 games in the competition and half of those have been by Chelsea (Chelsea – four times, Manchester United – three times, Arsenal – once).
Should Chelsea win their remaining five Premier League matches of the season, they will finish the campaign on 93 points. This would be the second-best points tally by a side in a Premier League season, after Chelsea in 2004-05 (95).
Everton v Chelsea: Sky Bet odds
Chelsea are Sky Bet’s favourites at to 21/20, with Everton 13/5 to halt their visitors’ title charge with a win and 5/2 to hold them to a draw. The Toffees are unfancied to finish in the top six at 6/1 while Antonio Conte’s men are just 1/14 for the title, with Tottenham 13/2 to catch them. Diego Costa in the 7/2 favourite in the first goalscorer betting followed by Eden Hazard (9/2), with Romelu Lukaku 5/1 to net first and enhanced from 13/2 to 15/2 to bag a brace in Sky Bet’s Price Boosts.
Click for Sky Bet's Everton v Chelsea odds!
MOST READ FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TIPS
