Everton is heading into one of the most important games in the club’s history as they are in the relegation zone with only six games left to play in the 2021-22 Premier League season. The Toffees are hosting Chelsea who has a great season sitting in third place at the table.
Everton
Everton has a historically bad season and the last four rounds will determine if it is going to be their worst season in the past 30 years. The team from Goodison Park is one of only six teams that have played every season since the establishment of the Premier League but now, with only six games left on the schedule, Everton is in the relegation zone.
The Toffees have won only 8 of 32 games this season with 19 losses and 5 draws. Currently, they have 29 points which are seven more than Watford but two less than Burnley who sits in the last place brings another Premier League campaign next season. The good news for Everton is that they have played one game less than Burnely and have winnable games left on the schedule.
After the game against Chelsea, Everton will host Brentford and Crystal Palace and will visit Leicester City, Watford and Arsenal.
Everton has won only one of the last five Premier League games with one draw and three losses, most recently 2-0 to the city rival Liverpool.
At Goodison Park, the Toffees have won two of the last five Premier League games and have won seven of 16 games with seven losses and two draws for the season.
Chelsea
Chelsea is in safe third place with six games to go in the season. They are 14 games behind Liverpool who is second and have no realistic chance of reaching them.
However, Chelsea is in a situation they want to be in which leads them to the Champions League next season but there is still work to do in order to secure that.
The Blues are five points ahead of Arsenal and seven ahead of Tottenham who is fifth. That leaves them enough space to close out the season in third place.
Chelsea has won 19 of 32 games so far in the season with 8 draws and 5 losses.
The team from London has won 4 of the last 5 games including the 3-2 win over Real Madrid which was not enough to advance to the Champions League semifinal.
In the Premier League, Chelsea has won 3 of the last 5 games and is coming off a 1-0 win over West Ham United.
Our tip for the Everton vs. Chelsea game
Chelsea has only five losses in 32 games this season and it is pretty hard to bet against them but this is a game when it is worth trying.
Everton is in the relegation zone, two points behind Burnley and has to do something about it right away. The bad news is that they are hosting one of the top three teams in the league but that will not be an excuse Everton fans would accept. The team has been in the Premier League since Day 1 and has never been relegated often being closer to the top than to the bottom.
So now with the back on their wall, the Everton players need and will step up against a tough opponent.
Richarlison is this season Everton’s top striker and it is up to the Brazilian to make the difference in this game. More importantly, the defensive line of manager Frank Lampard will need to be on top of their game.
The manager himself is going into the most demanding game of his young coaching career against the team he won everything with as a player. It would be a great football story if Lampard manages to lift Everton past the Blues.
Anyway, Chelsea is the better team and the one that will control the pace of the game. They are in a pretty comfortable situation in the third place with no serious jeopardy to their Champions League place for the next season. That may be another reason why the motive would be on Everton’s side which can prove to be the key factor in this game.
Both teams have won 2 of their last 5 head-to-head games with a 1-1 draw in December this season.