Chelsea are edging towards lifting the Premier league title in May and only Everton can halt their juggernaut amongst the remaining fixtures. Despite losing to Manchester United, Antonio Conte’s men are still very much alive in the title race and a win against the Toffees will make sure that they maintain their lead over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
On the other side, Everton’s home form have been very encouraging as the Merseyside club have won 12, drawn four and lost one game at the Goodison Park.
Romelu Lukaku
Clearly the Belgian forward has been the flag bearer for Everton this season. The ex-Chelsea forward has found the target on 24 occasions and would be very keen to be on the scoresheet against his former team. Premier League defenders have failed to mark Lukaku properly and the Belgian international have been on a rampaging mode in the English top tier.
The three-man defence formula of Chelsea has been a hit as the likes of Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz have adapted with the system beautifully but they have been vulnerable at times. Crystal Palace and Manchester United have recently shown that Chelsea can be defeated and Ronald Koeman would take a lesson from this game.
Usually, the Toffees defend deep, keep the ball in their possession and kill the opposition on the counter. Chelsea defenders will try to isolate Lukaku from the other players to make sure there won’t be enough providers for him and for that Koeman might introduce a second striker who could latch on the loose balls as Lukaku looks dangerous when he is playing alongside another forward.
Idrissa Gueye
Idrissa Gueye is going to be the key player for the Toffees in the remainder of the season. The Senegalese midfielder has been a dominating presence and he would be needed in this crucial game. Chelsea have two quality central midfielders in Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante and Gueye needs to make sure they don’t get overrun in the midfield.
Koeman is playing with a balanced 4-1-4-1 formation with Gueye and Davies grabbing the two central midfielders spot. But against Chelsea, it will be more of a 4-2-3-1 to cover his defence with an extra man in the midfield. Gueye has the most number of tackles in the Premier League and he is the man who could make the difference.
Ross Barkley
Everton’s attacking prowess will be depending on Ross Barkley. The England international has a tough job to do and against a side like Chelsea, he needs to be well drilled to get past them. Chelsea play with wingbacks and in an unusual thing, their wingbacks are a bit defensive minded who loves to drop back and help their midfielder to get a better view of the match. Barkley is fast, quick-footed, has good skills and he needs to escalate up quickly to make a move to the Chelsea attacking third.
