Everton
and Chelsea will put their respective unbeaten records on the line when they
meet on Saturday Night Football.
Roberto Martinez has seen his side open with back-to-back 2-2 draws against
Leicester City and Arsenal.
He will be disappointed to have seen leads squandered on each occasion, but
will be pleased to have seen the goals spread around as record signing
Romelu Lukaku waits for his first of the season.
The Belgium international will be determined, if fit, to open his account
this weekend, offering another reminder to Jose Mourinho and his former club
of what he is capable of and why they were foolish to sanction a £28million
sale.
Chelsea have, however, found in Diego Costa – who is also a doubt for the
weekend clash – a frontman who has hit the ground running in the Premier
League and started to justify his own hefty price tag.
The Spain international has been on target in the opening two rounds of
fixtures, helping to secure victories over Burnley and Leicester City.
With Chelsea sat among the early front-runners, as one of only four sides
boasting a 100 per cent record, they will be looking to head into the
international break perched at the top of the table and looking down on the
rest of their title rivals.
Team news
Everton will assess the fitness of two former Chelsea strikers, Samuel Eto'o
and Lukaku, prior to the Londoners' visit to Merseyside.
Eto'o has been short of match fitness, having only joined the club this
week, while Lukaku has had a toe injury. Another player with Chelsea
connections, on-loan winger Christian Atsu, cannot face his parent club.
Midfielder Steven Pienaar (groin) is definitely missing but midfielder
Darron Gibson is still pushing to return after 10 months out. Midfield duo
Ross Barkley (knee) and Bryan Oviedo (leg), and striker Arouna Kone (knee)
remain sidelined.
Chelsea have been monitoring a ‘minor muscle injury’ picked up by Costa,
amid talk that he could be ruled out for up to six weeks.
With Fernando Torres in discussions regarding a possible move to AC Milan,
Mourinho may soon find himself short on striking alternatives – with Didier
Drogba the only other proven option available to him at present.
The Portuguese tactician will also be forced to shuffle his playmaking pack
this weekend, with World Cup winner Andre Schurrle having picked up a leg
injury in the victory at home to Leicester.
Paul Merson’s prediction
Everton had Arsenal on the rack last Saturday and it was only when Romelu
Lukaku went off that things changed. I know he might have been injured, but
he gives them a real threat up front and Arsenal were unable to squeeze them
while he was on the pitch. For 80 minutes they were much the better team,
but it will be a different game this week. Chelsea are a different kettle of
fish and are another step up from Arsenal. Their new signings have all
clicked straight away and I fancy them to go to Goodison Park, which is a
very hard place to go, and get a result.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2
Opta stats
Everton have won four of their last five Barclays Premier League home games
against Chelsea.
Since the 2009-10 season, Chelsea have lost four times to Everton; only
Manchester City (5) have beaten them more often in that period.
Chelsea have conceded just nine goals in 2014, fewer than any other
ever-present PL side.
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