Everton will face Chelsea in the Premier League over the weekend, aiming to make it five wins from six games in the division.
David Moyes’ men have been in incredible recent form, racking up four wins in five games in the Premier League – and all four of those wins have come without conceding a single goal, much to the credit of Jordan Pickford.
Only a 4-1 loss to Newcastle United has put a blemish on Everton’s recent record, and although they face a tough away trip to title hopefuls Chelsea, the Blues have shown in recent weeks that they are beatable.
And after losing 2-1 to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, La Dea star Charles De Ketelaere has just told the Toffees where they can punish Enzo Maresca’s side.
Atalanta star Charles De Ketelaere scores vs Chelsea
Photo by Chris Ricco – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Everton have been told that they can punish Chelsea’s negative mindset on Saturday
Speaking after the win in Europe, in which he took the Man of the Match award, De Ketelaere admitted that he was surprised that Chelsea’s defence kept drawing themselves deeper and deeper in the hopes of preserving their lead.
And, having noted their poor second half record, De Ketelaere admitted that the second half was big for Atalanta to put the Stamford Bridge outfit to the sword.
The Belgian attacker said: “No [I didn’t expect to have that much space]. I felt them kept dropping back. I’m a bit lucky with the deflection, but it’s in. It’s a beautiful victory.
Everton last won a league game at Stamford Bridge in 1994… Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wasn’t even born yet. 😳 How is this still a thing?
An overview of Everton's Premier League record against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Credit: Getty Images/Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth.
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“We knew they have a lot of goals scored against them in the second half.”
A win for Everton will take them into at least sixth, having gone fifth after Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest, and above rivals Liverpool in the Premier League table.
And, should Manchester United and Crystal Palace falter in their games against Bournemouth and Manchester City respectively, they’ll end the gameweek in the Champions League spots.
Everton have a strong second half record in the Premier League
Everton have scored nine goals in the second half of Premier League fixtures this season, whilst Chelsea have conceded eight – showing that they have the upper hand in that regard.
However, the Blues have scored 16 after the interval in just 15 Premier League games, and so the Toffees also should be careful.
Thomas Bramall has been appointed referee for Everton vs Chelsea, thoughts Toffees fans? 🤔
Bramall was forced to apologise for some controversial decisions in Everton’s 2-2 draw vs Man United in pre-season.
An overview of Thomas Bramall's record vs Everton
Credit: Getty Images/Paul ELLIS / AFP.
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If they do have a period of sustained pressure against Chelsea, there should be no letting up, with Enzo Maresca likely to drop his team back as he did against Atalanta.
These are the games in which Everton’s surprise run to the European places will be measured and if they can at least secure a point at Stamford Bridge, it will be a positive result come the end of the season.
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