Everton vs Chelsea Betting – Ancelotti to focus on football

Chelsea will be hoping that their football can start making the headlines of the back pages again, as the fuss and furore of captain John Terry starts to fade. Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti is to hold talks with club Captain John Terry, to see if he needs time away from the game to get himself together. After being stripped of the England captaincy by Fabio Capello, it has been a difficult week for defender Terry. However, in their 2-0 victory over Arsenal on Sunday, John Terry did what he did best, and looked in superb form out on the pitch, helping his side to a very important victory. While the Chelsea fans and his team mates seem to be behind him, any defensive errors will probably be pounced upon by the media, putting more pressure on him. But the whole affair could be exactly what unites the Chelsea corps for a strong season finish.

After suffering a dead leg against Arsenal, he has been passed fit to take his place in the starting eleven in their tricky midweek game against Everton. Chelsea really need to keep up the pressure on Manchester United, as they only hold a slender two points lead over them. These are those tricky games away from Stamford Bridge, which Chelsea have struggled so much with this season. Everton are a solid, workhouse team, and managed to hold Chelsea to a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge, the only team to have left there with something this season. Chelsea fans will have been heartened by the return of Didier Drogba from the African Cup of Nations, as it was his two goals which secured the win against Arsenal. Chelsea are missing Michael Essien still, and Portuguese midfielder Deco, who is reportedly on the brink of retiring from international duty, needs a check on his knee. If Chelsea can win away at Goodison, it should instil a new sense of belief that they can take the Premier League title this year.

Everton won’t have Steven Pienaar available for the big home game, as he saw red in the derby match against Liverpool on the weekend. Not many teams can score that many against Chelsea, which made their three goals at Stamford Bridge all the more surprising. They were, however, able to capitalise on Chelsea’s apparent lack of control in defending set pieces, and that is something which boss David Moyes will no doubt be pressing home to his players. Everton started slowly to the new season, but of late, with a squad getting back to full fitness, with only Fellaini missing. This has been highlighted by a strong run of home form, but they are still lacking in enough fire power to really push them up the league. They are down in tenth, but with a goal difference of -2, it highlights the fact that they are lacking an offensive game. You know what you are going to get with Everton though, a hard working, hard tackling, defensively sound set up.

How much they can influence a game in sustained attacking pressure is another matter though, and Chelsea’s ball possession is usually enough to take a lot of that pressure away. Everton will need to be high tempo and physical, as that is what could knock Chelsea off their stride. Moyes will know that Chelsea are still hesitant and edgy on their travels, and that is something which they could capitalise on. Their defence will need to stand firm though, as it’s very rare that Chelsea fail to find the back of the net, and with the combination of Drogba and Lampard totalling more goals than the Everton team in total, the league leaders will go to Goodison, expecting nothing less than a win. Everton could well have other plans with a solid performance.

BETTING STATS

Last 5 Head to Head (League)
Chelsea 3, Everton 3
Chelsea 0, Everton 0
Everton 0, Chelsea 0
Everton 0, Chelsea 1
Chelsea 1, Everton 1

Last 5 Match Goals
Everton: 7 For, 3 Against
Chelsea: 15 For, 4 Against

Last 10 Form
Everton: W4, D5, L1
Chelsea: W6, D4, L0

Win Percentage
Everton have a 41.7 win percentage at home
Chelsea have a 50.0 win percentage away from home

Match Prices
Everton to win: 9/2 at 888Sport
Draw: 11/4 at Boylesports
Chelsea to win: 8/11 at Bet365

Betting Advice: A draw wouldn’t be a great surprise here. Everton are pretty good at home, and with Chelsea’s problems on the road, it could all even out. This makes for some good betting options. A draw no bet for either team would offer some comfort, as it should be a pretty tight affair. Chelsea are the better side, but Everton are able to put them off their natural game and cause an upset.
Everton +1 Asian Handicap: 19/20 at Victor Chandler