Everton v Chelsea: Can Carlo halt Blues' charge?

Chelsea travel to Merseyside for their Saturday evening fixture against the team from Goodison Park, the one that has more match attending locals than their bitter rivals located less than a mile away.

Matches involving Chelsea and Everton are difficult to predict but Stamford Bridge supporters are hoping that their side’s ever-lengthening unbeaten run will continue, especially against a team who, despite their early good form this season, now seem to be struggling.

Former and much-loved Blues’ manager Carlo Ancelotti may well still be heartbroken at the treatment he received from Chelsea.

The Italian’s reticence could well stem from the fact that as the club’s only double-winning manager – an honour he’d accomplished the previous season – he was informed that his time was up.

To make matters worse, he was relieved of his duties in the Goodison tunnel after Everton had defeated The Blues 1-0 in the final league match of the 2010/11campaign.

In last season’s encounter, Chelsea went down 3-1, with Mateo Kovačić notching for the Londoners.

LATEST ODDS: EVERTON v CHELSEA

Chelsea’s midweek Champions League fixture against Russian side Krasnodar ended with honours even thanks to a penalty expertly slotted home by Jorginho after the visitors had taken the lead.

The game was an opportunity for those within Lampard’s squad who find themselves on the fringes of the first team to show what they have got and, with Chelsea having already won their qualifying group, there was little pressure on the side as a whole.

As he has done from day one, Lampard showed his continuing belief in the Academy system by giving the very highly rated Tino Anjorin his first-team debut.

With news that Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech are injured, the positive news is that Christian Pulisic may well be available and I expect the mainstay of the side that beat Leads United last weekend to start.

This weekend, I’ll be putting my money on a straight Chelsea win, the price being 1.68 with our friends at FansBet.

About the Author

Londoner David Johnstone is a home, away and European away Chelsea supporter and has missed just six matches since 2001 (although he’s quick to state there are plenty of other supporters with better attendance records than him).

He has been involved with the fanzine scene at Chelsea since around 1991 and started the ‘cfcuk’ fanzine in 1999 which was, until Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003, named ‘Matthew Harding’s Blue And White Army’.

David was also responsible for forming both the Chelsea Supporters’ Group and the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust which are the main two bodies that represent the followers of Chelsea FC and take their concerns to those running the club.

A founder of the highly regarded Chelsea FanCast weekly podcast (but is no longer involved) and responsible for the crowd surfing banners and supporter displays that are seen in the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge on matchday.

FansBet are working in partnership with CFCUK, sign up here