Chelsea will look to steal a march on their top-four rivals in the Premier League when they face hosts Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, 17 March 2019, kick-off at 18h30 CAT.
Chelsea come into the match on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend. It could have been even worse for the London side had Eden Hazard not scored a late equaliser to salvage a point.
The result left the Blues in sixth place on the log on 57 points and they look to be the outsiders to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
However, due to the FA Cup quarterfinals being played this weekend, none of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (Chelsea’s rivals for the two remaining Champions League berths behind the leading duo of Manchester City and Liverpool) are in league action.
This gives Maurizio Sarri’s side (who have a game in hand) the chance to go level with fourth-placed Arsenal on 60 points and underline their ambitions.
Yet they will face a tough test against an Everton side who will be stinging from a 3-2 away defeat at the hands of Newcastle United last weekend, in which they threw away a two-goal advantage.
The Toffees will need to reproduce the kind of spirit and determination they showed in holding Merseyside rivals Liverpool 0-0 in early March in their most recent home match.
In head-to-head terms, Everton and Chelsea have met in 53 previous Premier League matches. The Blues have claimed 25 wins compared to nine for the Toffees, while 19 games have been drawn.
The teams’ most recent Premier League meeting was at Stamford Bridge in November 2018, with the game ending goalless (the second successive 0-0 draw between the clubs). Everton have not beaten Chelsea in a league clash since September 2015.
Everton v Chelsea – Head-to-head, Premier League
Matches played 53
Everton wins 9
Chelsea wins 25
Draws 19
Last five results (Premier League only, most recent first)
| Everton | L | D | W | L | L |
| Chelsea | D | W | W | L | W |