Everton vs. Chelsea: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Everton are expected to make things difficult for Chelsea following their 0-0 draw with Arsenal away at Emirates, and games involving the Toffees have produced less than 2.5 goals in seven of their previous nine. This fixture has also produced less than 2.5 goals in six of the last eight meetings between the two teams.

Chelsea are coming into this game, unbeaten in ten in all competitions, having won their previous seven consecutive games, five of which are in the Premier League. Since the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, Chelsea has remained unbeaten in the Premier League, with six wins from their last eight league games, including wins over Tottenham Hotspur (3-4), Southampton (1-5) & Aston Villa (3-0). Everton have only won once in their previous five, with three draws and a 4-0 defeat away at Old Trafford. Everton 0-2 Chelsea.

Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League table this weekend as they lock horns with Everton in Merseyside.

• Date: 22/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 14:00
• Location: Goodison Park, Liverpool

Everton are coming into this game 16th in the league with 15 points from 15 games. This season has been far from enjoyable for fans of the Toffees, who were hoping to sign off their 132-year stint at their famous ground in style, but they can at least take comfort from the fact they’re outside of the relegation zone, and probably look a good bet to avoid the drop.

Everton are not a good watch - their total of 14 goals scored is currently the third worst in the league - but they’re a very watertight unit and are extremely tough to play against. Ten sides have conceded more goals in the league than Everton, and their expected goals against rate of 1.41xGA is a reflection of their overall defensive performance this season. Importantly, it’s also much, much better than that of any of the league’s other relegation candidates, something that sets the Toffees apart from their peers.

This level of defensive solidity, if maintained, should see the Toffees survive this season. After all, how many other relegation candidates could go to the Emirates and keep a clean sheet? However, the team’s setup is certainly not endearing manager Sean Dyche to the fans, who are quite impatient with the team’s setup. The fans want more to cheer about, and come summer, it seems like there’s a good chance the new ownership will go in a different direction.

Everton should be careful what they wish for, though, because considering the quality in the squad, Dyche is doing a pretty good job. This set of players, under most other managers, would likely be in bigger danger of relegation.

Chelsea’s season has, quite frankly, been excellent so far. The Blues have been one of the league’s surprise teams, going from laughing stock to title contenders in the space of only a few months. The Blues are second in the league table with 34 points from 16 games, and should they win this game on Sunday, they will go top of the league table for a few hours at least, but should Liverpool lose to Tottenham, they could end the weekend at the summit of the Premier League table.

Few predicted Chelsea to be anywhere near this good, but under new manager Enzo Maresca, several players have made monumental leaps in their individual performances. Notably, Moisés Caicedo is starting to look like the £100m+ midfielder the Blues thought they’d signed from Brighton, while Noni Madueke is becoming a more consistent contributor as the weeks pass by. On top of that, Marc Cucurella, after an awful start to his Chelsea career, is now playing at the top of his game, while Enzo Fernández is showing signs of improvement too.

Maresca and Chelsea are largely shying away from any serious talk of the title title, but it’s hard to deny they’re serious contenders for the trophy at present. Goodison Park is a tough place to go but Chelsea have been extremely adept at beating sides outside of the top 6 in the league, so they’ll fancy their chances of three points here.

This game will not be televised live in the UK, but full radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio 5 Live.

Everton Team News:

Everton will come into this game without Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner and Youssef Chermiti, all of whom remain out injured.

After a good result last weekend, Sean Dyche may be temped to go with the same lineup as they face another title contender for the second weekend in a row.

Predicted lineup: Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Mangala, Gueye, Doucouré; Harrison, Calvert-Lewin, Ndiaye.

Chelsea Team News:

Wesley Fofana, Reece James, João Félix, Benoit Badiashile and Ben Chilwell are all out injured for the Blues, while Mykhaylo Mudryk's Chelsea may now be up in the air after news broke of the Ukranian winger failing a drugs test.

Marc Cucurella is also unavailable due to suspension, with the Spaniard seeing red at the death against Brentford last weekend.

Predicted lineup: Sánchez; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Veiga; Caicedo, Fernández; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Everton:

Everton come into this one having won one, drawn three and lost one of their last five games. The Toffees claimed a very impressive point last weekend, as they drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the Emirates following a dogged defensive showing.

That game followed a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, where two own goals alongside goals from Ashley Young and Orel Mangala got the job done.

Before that, Everton were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford, a result that came after successive 0-0 draws against Brentford and West Ham United.

Chelsea:

Chelsea enter this game in excellent form, with Maresca's men winning all of their last five outings. The weekend's game saw Chelsea record a 2-1 win over Brentford thanks to goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson.

Prior to that, a Marc Guiu brace and goal from Renato Veiga saw Chelsea beat Astana 3-1 in the Conference League, which came after a 4-3 win away at Tottenham thanks to a Cole Palmer brace and goals from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernández.

Those results followed a thumping 5-1 win at Southampton - where Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho scored the goals - and a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, courtesy of Jackson, Fernández and Palmer.

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