Game Week 16 Predictions: Chelsea to beat Everton at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea vs Everton Premier League preview: Blues seek revival post-Barcelona high, face confident Toffees with Dewsbury-Hall shining. BTTS verdict.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer is availabe for selection against Everton, will he be the man to make the difference on Saturday? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge Stadium

4:00pm

Chelsea hasn’t won a game since beating Barcelona in the Champions League three weeks ago. Since that huge win, they have lost to Leeds and Atalanta and have dropped points against Arsenal and Bournemouth.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however; when you consider their status as the world champions and a team that took billions to assemble, you expect them to be in the mix for the title and not sitting in fifth on the log, closer to 15th than the top of the log.

Everton is punching hard and knocking on the door to Europe. The Toffees are on a great run, and should they earn something from this game, you might indeed start taking their European ambitions seriously; after all, they’re only a point and a place below Chelsea on the log.

David Moyes is silently building a strong squad that can stand toe-to-toe with any team in the mix for the Europa spots, and with a run of four wins in five games, you don’t want to rule them out. Chelsea must be wary of this Everton side.

The Blues were away in Italy in midweek; Everton has rested for a whole week, and this could be pivotal. However, there’s enough depth in the Chelsea squad to be able to prosecute this game. It should be a great game for the neutrals.

How has Moyes been able to build confidence in these Everton players? Everyone thought Jack Grealish was that man to galvanise the Toffees, but it has been a former Chelsea youngster, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall; the former Leicester City youngster is now indispensable in the Everton team.

Chelsea is expected to have Cole Palmer back for this one. Enzo Maresca confirmed that the England playmaker is back and available for selection. Moises Caicedo serves the last of his three-match ban, so Reece James could return in midfield alongside Andre Santos and Enzo Fernandez.

Chelsea’s main threat is on the flanks, where they have the likes of Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Jammie Gittens and Estevao to compete for places. Joao Pedro will still lead the line as Liam Delap returns to the injury list.

Ilman Ndiaye is immense for Everton; he will once again try to prove his worth. However, he will be on his way to AFCON after this game. Thierno Barry got his first goal for Everton last week; this might be a good time for him to get his second. The match should entertain us.

Verdict: Both teams to score.