Our live stream ahead of Saturdays Premier League match, Everton vs Chelsea is now up and running, kicking off at 20.00 GMT.
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
Chelsea come into the game off the back of a midweek Champions League draw with Russian outfit Krasnodar, ensuring they qualified top of their group. Having already qualified it gave Lampard a chance to rotate his squad and will be looking to put out his strongest eleven against the Toffees.
The London club won in their last Premier League outing, coming back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against newly-promoted Leeds United. The draw midweek means that Chelsea are now unbeaten in 14 matches across all competition.
Ancelotti’s men battled out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend but is a step in the right direction having lost previously lost four of their last five fixtures in the league.
The Toffees have lost their last two home matches, against Manchester United and Leeds United, and are aiming to avoid three in a row for the first time since March 2016.
The last time these two clubs met was in March, with Chelsea storming to a 4-0 victory at Stamford Bridge…
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Carlo Ancelotti
On team news…
“Team news is that we have three players not available, one is [Seamus] Coleman,”
“He has started to train with the team and is quite good, but I think that he will be available for the next game against Leicester on Wednesday.
“Delph suffered a injury against Burnley.”
“James is out, he had a little problem during the game against Burnley and was not able to train this week. I think he will start to train next week.”
“But for this game [vs Chelsea] we don’t want to take a risk.”
On defensive numbers…
“We have the option to play with three at the back, we can play four. It depends on what strategy we want to play in the game.”
On return of supporters to Goodison…
“It will be nice for everyone. It’s a good start to reopen the stadium, it will be really good and really nice. I’m sure they are going to support us for the game tomorrow.”
Tribute to team-mate Rossi…
“I have fantastic memories of him. He was a funny guy and I’m really sad.”
On players walking off in Paris…
“It was a strong, strong decision that the players made. UEFA has to investigate what really happened and work on this.”
On Lampard…
“I think he’s doing really well. He did really well last season at Chelsea, he’s doing well now. He has a fantastic squad, a fantastic team.”
On Chelsea…
“Chelsea are in a really good moment. It is necessary for us for a fantastic and top, top performance. The question is are we able to do this? The answer in my personal opinion is yes, we are able to compete.”
On previous Chelsea games…
“I have a good memory of both games, I saw one game on television and they did a fantastic job and we were really bad at Stamford Bridge. We need the kind of motivation Duncan put on the players. This will be a good base to have a good performance.”
On crowd return…
“Players, staff, coaches are really pleased to have supporters at the stadium. I think there will be a lot of noise, but it will be a good sensation for everyone.”
On form worries…
“I think the last three games against Fulham, Leeds and Burnley – the team showed some good qualities. We are where we want to be, fighting for the position in Europe. There is a lot of competition but Everton is there.”
On clean sheets…
“We are not happy, only the first game we had a clean sheet. We tried to solve this using different shape, but as I said we have to improve the attitude and concentration defensively. Honestly I have to say the players are all focused there.”
On Calvert-Lewin…
“It’s quite clear, he has more consistency in the box compared to last season. I’m hoping that Richarlison starts to score goals like Dominic.”
On Iwobi versatility…
“I think when Iwobi is fit, he can play everywhere. In this moment I have a lot of confidence, because his physical condition is really good.”
On night he left Chelsea…
“Long time ago but a great memory! It [leaving drinks] was a fantastic gift from Chelsea players, I still have for every one of them a really good memory.”
On missing James…
“James is a fantastic player for us, he did really well at the beginning and had some problems after the game against Liverpool. But we have to be, and we will be, able to adapt. We have a good squad, we are going to play a little bit different.”
On injury…
“He was not able to train, nothing special but he was not able to train. We have to look at him after the game, to see if he will be able to train and play against Leicester.”
Frank Lampard
On team news…
“We’re the same as we were in midweek. Hakim and Callum are out for a couple of weeks. Christian had a tiny bit of awareness after the Leeds game in his hamstring but we should be as we were.”
On what he learnt from Ancelotti…
“I was heavily influenced by him as a player and a man. He’s right at the top of managers I worked with. He’s had huge success at various clubs. He was a great coach, a great man and I look forward to seeing him.”
On players walking off in Paris…
“Not sure. It was important as the world moves on in right direction. Don’t want to comment on a situation. Everyone knows how we at Chelsea feel about racism and equality.”
Happy with Jorginho’s attitude? Back on penalties? And what’s up with Christian’s hamstrings?
“I didn’t doubt his ability to take penalties. Normal that he will miss but he’s confident in his style. Not a problem. He gives everything when he plays and trains. I’m delighted with him. Christian is a work in progress – I don’t want to call it an injury. It’s up to me to see how I can get the best out of him consistently.”
Can Ancelotti get Everton into top six after good start and now shaky spell?
“The Premier League is unforgiving. They’ve had injuries. It doesn’t change my thoughts on how to approach playing them.”
On title race…
“We’re happy where we are but there’s a long way to go… words aren’t important at this point.”
Ahead of where you expected?
“Hard to say because of the variables at start of the season. We didn’t have a long pre-season. Reality is we’re somewhere in the middle and consistency is what we need going forward. I always want more.”
Important to have PL to focus on now?
“It was important for us to win our CL group and put that away until the new year. Our next four games show how challenging it is. It’s important to focus and understand. We can’t drop our standards.”
FORM:
Everton Premier League form: LLLWLD
Chelsea Premier League form: WWDWWD
LINEUPS:
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Godfrey, Mina, Keane; Davies, Allan, Doucoure, Iwobi; Rodriguez, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kovacic, Kante, Mount; Pulisic, Giroud, Werner
THATSAGOAL TIP:
Chelsea to Win – 8/11 with FanTeam.
The formbooks couldn’t be more different for Everton and Chelsea. The Toffees started the season in spectacular fashion but have since fallen off a cliff with a narrow win over Fulham their only victory in six league games.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are on a very long unbeaten streak in all comps and look very likely to overcome an out of sorts Everton. Defensive injuries for Carlo Ancelotti only strengthens that argument.
Time to take a look at our Everton vs Chelsea live match stream as it happens…
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