Everton vs Chelsea preview, team news, kick-off, prediction

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.

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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.

How to follow

Follow Everton vs Chelsea in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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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.

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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).

Pitch to Post Preview podcast

This week on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast, Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporters James Cooper and Ben Ransom to discuss the Manchester derby, including whether David de Gea will be dropped, why John Stones is back in the City side, and how it could all play out.

Their colleague Michael Bridge is on the line to discuss Crystal Palace vs table-toppers Tottenham, plus Sky Sports Data Editor Adam Smith has the numbers behind Arsenal's attack and Liverpool's strength in depth - as well as his Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend!

Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox

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