Chelsea suffered their sixth Premier League defeat of the season after losing to Manchester United in midweek but they will be hoping to quickly bounce back when they face Everton.
The Blues head to Goodison Park on Sunday to take on a buoyant Everton side who are fresh off their 3-0 victory against Newcastle United.
The loss to Manchester United means Chelsea are now 10th on the EPL table with just 19 points and anything other than a win and the London outfit could slide down to the 13th spot by the end of this matchweek.
Everton have been hit with a 10-point deduction but the Toffees have maintained their uplifting performances, losing just one out of their previous five matches. On paper, Chelsea are the stronger side but the way they played against Man United in midweek, Everton will definitely be targeting all three points.
Chelsea’s team news and injuries:
The injury list remains long for Pochettino with players like Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Chalobah all out for long periods of time.
Reece James came off the bench against Man United but the England international should get a start on Sunday which means Cucurella and Levi Colwill will fight it out for the left-back’s role.
Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo were completely outplayed in midweek and this is going to be the main area of concern for Pochettino. Chelsea paid a hell lot of money to bring in these two midfielders and they will need to be at their absolute best if the Blues wish to win at Goodison Park.
Cole Palmer has settled in nicely in the No 10 role so it’s the two central midfielders who need to pull up their socks.
Christopher Nkunku is closer to a return but his manager has admitted that the Everton game is going to come too early for him. This means Mudryk will get another start out on the left flank.
The manager has said about Nkunku in his press conference: “Still assessing day by day, see tomorrow. I don’t believe that he will be involved but we need to assess day by day. We see also Malo Gusto but apart from that no.”
The hunt for a world-class centre-forward continues for Chelsea and until then, Nicolas Jackson will lead the line.
Ben Chilwell remains sidelined with a hamstring injury while Noni Madueke is also out injured.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Everton:
Predicted Starting line up(4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Thiago Silva, Disasi, Reece James, Colwill/Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Palmer, Mudryk, Raheem Sterling; Jackson.
