Chelsea vs. Everton, Premier League: Preview, team news, how to watch

It’s been a weekend of drama in the upper echelons of the Premier League, with Liverpool and Arsenal both losing at home to hand the advantage back to Manchester City in the title race, and Aston Villa solidifying their claim on fourth with Spurs getting smacked around by Newcastle United.

The Newcastle win is not great news for us, as we’re now six points behind both sixth and seventh, albeit with two games in-hand. In fact, even after playing this game, we will have a game in-hand on every single team in the league, and two in-hand on some — including West Ham United, who are four points ahead of us in eights, but have already played 33 games. This will match number 31 for us.

It’s not at all clear how we got into this situation despite having no pandemics or European football to deal with, but the upshot of it all is that we can make up some pretty good ground ... if we can win.

That’s a big if however, especially against teams lower down in the table, like Everton, who are just a couple points from safety at the moment (thanks largely to their 8-point deduction for breaches of the league’s profit and sustainability rules).

Can we find some good vibes at least?

Date / Time: Monday, April 15, 2024, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT; 12:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Paul Tierney (on pitch); Michael Salisbury (VAR)
Forecast: Cold, windy, possibly quite rainy

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); USA, Universo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea team news: Unsurprisingly, we have more injuries to deal with, as both Axel Disasi and Enzo Fernández, two of our team leaders in minutes, are doubtful, while Raheem Sterling and Robert Sánchez have also missed training due to illness. Sterling was apparently quite poorly at the start of the week while also dealing with a knock to his back, so it seems unlikely that he will be fit for any strenuous action.

Given our relatively sparse schedule, the fact that fatigue is catching up to many is a bit worrying. Malo Gusto was held out last weekend while Cole Palmer was well off his usual levels and unable to see out the full-90. Ben Chilwell could return after missing a few more games post-international break, but otherwise, the usual suspects all remain out: Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Levi Colwill, Roméo Lavia, and Lesley Ugochukwu).

Mauricio Pochettino has made it a (positive) point to say that injuries can create opportunities for Academy youngsters to step up, though we have not really seen such opportunities materialize in games much outside of a few cameos for Alfie Gilchrist.

Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Everton team news: The Toffees have a few injury issues of their own, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Garner being doubtful, but key midfielders Amadou Onana and Gana Gueye are set to return after missing out last weekend, as could backup striker Arnaut Danjuma. Dele Alli and Lewis Dobbin are dealing with long-term issues.

Without the points deductions, Everton would be just about safe. But barring an appeal, they will have to carry this 8-point deficit, and there’s the prospect of potential further deductions as well. They will be fighting tooth and nail for every point; Sean Dyche will certainly ensure that much. They have just two wins in all competitions in 2024 however, so surely we have to be looking at this game as a must-have three points.

View from the enemy: Royal Blue Mersey

Previously: Despite a few too many draws overall against poor opposition of late, our home record has been pretty good since the start of November: just one defeat in sixteen, with three draws. And while we continue to leak goals like a collapsing dam, we’ve scored two or more goals in thirteen of those games as well. We have not beaten Everton at the Bridge in two straight however, and lost to them at Goodison back in December as well.