Team
news and stats ahead of Everton vs Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday
(kick-off 8pm).
Team news
Everton playmaker James Rodriguez will miss the visit of Chelsea.
The Colombia international sustained a calf injury in last weekend's draw at
Burnley and has not trained all week.
Defender Seamus Coleman is expected to be fit from a hamstring injury in
time for the midweek trip to Leicester but midfielder Fabian Delph is out
with a similar problem.
Chelsea's Christian Pulisic has shaken off a hamstring twinge to be fit for
the trip to Goodison Park.
The USA forward has endured a number of hamstring issues in the last year,
but has avoided any injury this time around.
Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi will miss the Goodison Park trip with
both expected to miss a fortnight due to their own hamstring injuries.
Jones Knows prediction
Can Chelsea go all the way this season? It's too early to answer that one -
but we'll certainly know more after this trip to Goodison Park.
Yes, Everton aren't quite the top-four contenders some had them out to be,
but they are a force going forward when Richarlison is available for
selection.
In the eight games he's started, Everton average 2.3 goals and create just
under 11 chances per 90 minutes. That's top-six standard football.
His positioning off the left is very tricky for defenders to pick up as his
game is all about being direct and getting into dangerous positions - it's
an area Chelsea struggled with against Leeds with Patrick Bamford's goal
coming from an attack down that side. Richarlison's dynamic with Dominic
Calvert-Lewin isn't quite Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son levels of chemistry
but the potential is certainly there on what we've seen this season.
Richarlison has assisted three of Calvert-Lewin's 11 goals this season -
it's 12/1 for that combination to come up trumps again this weekend.
In what is likely to be an explosive game involving two deadly attacks, I'm
happy to play the score draw.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-2 (11/1 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
Everton have won their last two Premier League home games against Chelsea,
last winning three in a row against the Blues between February 2010-February
2012.
Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in six of their last eight Premier League
meetings with Everton, losing both games in which they conceded (W4 D2).
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti took charge of 76 Premier League games with
Chelsea from 2009 to 2011, averaging 2.07 points per game in his spell with
the Blues. Current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard played in 60 of these 76
matches, scoring 32 goals; only under José Mourinho did Lampard score more
in the Premier League (49 in 140 appearances).
Chelsea have won just two of their last 15 away Premier League games against
fellow ever-present sides in the competition (D5 L8), with those victories
coming at Tottenham and Arsenal in December last year.
Everton have lost their last two Premier League home games (vs Man Utd and
Leeds) - they've not lost three in a row at home since March 2016, while
manager Carlo Ancelotti hasn't lost three consecutive home league games
since November 2006 with Milan.
Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three Premier League
away games, as many as they had in their previous 35 in the competition.
They last went four in a row without conceding on the road back in February
2016.
Managers to have previously taken charge of Chelsea in the Premier League
have won just five of their 34 meetings against them in the competition (D8
L21), with Chelsea unbeaten in their last eight such games since Rafael
Benítez's Newcastle won 3-0 in May 2018 (W6 D2 since).
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