Chelsea vs Everton: Match Preview | Toffees look to do the double over Londoners

Everton head to Chelsea on Monday evening looking to regain some of the ground lost by that second points deduction and put further breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.

The two-points deduction erased much of the good work achieved against Burnley last weekend and meant the Toffees dropped to within just two points of the drop zone.

Without the two deductions Everton would be on 35 points and all but safe, allowing us all to breathe easy and planning to being in earnest for the summer.

Instead it is a third successive relegation battle, with at least two or three more wins needed in the final seven games.

At least they ended their long run without a win against the Clarets, and Saturday’s results could have been a lot worse.

Sheffield United lost to Brentford, who look to be almost safe and may well be by the time they head to Goodison in a fortnight, while Burnley could only draw with Brighton and look doomed.

Luton lost at Manchester City as expected, while Nottingham Forest could only draw at home to Wolves, meaning Everton could open up a bigger gap between both teams with a result at Stamford Bridge.

But therein lies the problem. Everton have not won at Stamford Bridge for 30 years, Paul Rideout’s header sealing a 1-0 win in Joe Royle’s first away game as manager in November 1994.

It is fair to say the natives are restless at Stamford Bridge after a couple of years of sharp regression, despite the extraordinary outlay by new owner Todd Boehly.

More than £1bn has been spent on a dazzling array of players, the majority of them young and on lengthy contracts. But such upheaval has brought mid-table mediocrity, with the club finishing 12^th last season, their lowest finish since 1996.

Their financial results, published on Companies House on Saturday, revealed that it took the sale of the hotel at Stamford Bridge to a subsidiary of the club’s holding company for £75m to avoid breaching PSR.

None of that is against the rules, but Everton are sure to raise eyebrows given the Premier League is pursuing the Toffees so vociferously over interest payments on stadium loans.

They look set to improve on last year’s finish as they currently sit ninth, but a crippling injury list has robbed them of 11 players for Monday’s game.

Everton were in the midst of their four-game winning run when Chelsea arrived at Goodison in December, with second half goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure and Lewis Dobbin sealing the points.

Everton have been boosted by the return of Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye for Monday’s game.

Onana missed last weekend’s win over Burnley after complaining of soreness after training, while Gana was absent to be with his wife for the birth of his child.

James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed training with a knock and hamstring problem respectively, but Sean Dyche is hopeful they will be available.

Arnaut Danjuma played 88 minutes for the U21s on Friday so could feature in the squad.

Everton manager Sean Dyche: “We beat them well at [Goodison] in the sense that we delivered a good performance but that doesn’t guarantee the next one. So, we have got to make sure that we deliver. That is what I go through with the players. Don’t rely on anyone else but ourselves.

“We changed the recent story after a tough run of results with a win, an important win especially looking at the news that came next. We have got to build on that. The time for fault and blame is gone.

“Let’s all pull together and get it done. The rise of the Toffees is important for us.

“We have got to play our part, make no mistake. [I’ve] never made an excuse since being here, never blamed anyone, but it is very helpful when our fans travel as they do in numbers and get behind us. I think that is a big part of what we can continue to work towards.”

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino: “When we face teams like [Manchester] City, [Manchester] United, Tottenham or Liverpool, the team shows good quality. The problem is that we aren’t consistent.

“When we are analysing, the lack of maturity really shows, but only with time can we get the right balance.

“I think Chelsea have one of the best academies, not only in England but in the world, and I think it is our responsibility to care about these guys.

“A few of them will have the possibility to be in the squad on Monday. Also they are training for us, and for 16, 17, 18-year-olds they are training normally and being consistent with us. That is a very good experience and a very good evolution for them, to compete with senior players.”

Everton’s terrible record at Stamford Bridge means it is nearly impossible to get my hopes up for this one. But this is one of the most inconsistent Chelsea teams we have seen for a long time, so if Everton get them on a bad day they have a (slim) chance.