Fifth place Chelsea will host an in-form Everton side at Stamford Bridge, with David Moyes’ men sat seventh and only two points adrift of the top four.
Enzo Maresca’s side will be looking to regain some spirit and form as they look to re-establish their place in the top four. They host an Everton side spurred on by recent strong performances and who find themselves inside the Champions League places, should the Premier League retain its fifth spot.
When Chelsea delivered a 3-0 drubbing of European Giants Barcelona at Stamford Bridge back in November and shortly followed it up with a respectable 1-1 draw with 10 men against league leaders Arsenal in the same time frame, it looked as though they had kicked into gear for the season and were ready to challenge for the title. Yet fast forward to now and the Blues have only beaten Spurs, Wolves and Burnley since the start of last month. This run includes defeats to Leeds United and Atalanta whilst a shock draw away at Azerbaijani side Qarabağ.
Such results have seen Chelsea slip behind Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in the top five. The defeat to Atalanta delt the Blues some damage in their quest for automatic qualification to the round of 16 of the Champions League, so they’ll be desperate to make amends domestically.
Their visitors Everton are in a buoyant mood having won four out of their last five Premier League matches which has seen the Toffees climb into the top seven. They most recently beat Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest 3-0 and will head to Stamford Bridge as one of the most in-form sides in the league. However, Everton have not won a game at this ground since November 1994 and Moyes is winless in all of his 20 Premier League games away against the Blues.
Chelsea will once again be without stalwart midfielder Moisés Caicedo as the Ecuadorian serves the last of his three-match suspension due to a red card given to him against Arsenal. He will be absent from the side alongside striker Liam Delap, Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia, leaving João Pedro in place as the starting striker. Defender Wesley Fofana sustained a freak eye injury during the Blues’ Champions League outing against Atalanta in midweek. Despite this, it is expected he will be fit for the Everton game.
The Toffees are without Seamus Coleman, Jarrad Braithwaite and Merlin Röhl, who are expected to not return until the new year. Striker Thierno Barry should be fit enough to feature despite a minor shoulder issue gained after scoring his first goal for Everton against Nottingham Forest. They have the return of Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam to bolster their midfield after serving their respective suspensions.
The game kicks off at 15:00 GMT and subsequently won’t be broadcast live in the UK.
Predicted line-ups
CHE: Sánchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; James, Fernández; Estêvão, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro
EVE: Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; Barry