Paul Merson predicts Everton game v Chelsea in Premier League
Paul Merson believes Chelsea are finally starting to click ahead of their Premier League clash with Everton on Saturday 18 March at Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter’s Blues side have started to gel having picked up back-to-back wins in the Premier League against Leicester and Leeds, to end a run of just two wins in ten league games.
Everton picked up an impressive and valuable victory last time out to end Brentford’s unbeaten run, although they have been backed to lose this time around.
Merson though believes it will be a tall order for Sean Dyche’s side to pick anything up from their trip to London at Stamford Bridge and has predicted a 3-0 home win.
In his Sportskeeda prediction column, Merson had his say on the tie: “Everton got a fantastic win against Brentford but they have a bunch of hard games coming up, so they really needed to get three points against the Bees.
“Chelsea, on the other hand, are finally showing signs of clicking under Graham Potter after the Englishman decided to revert to a three-at-the-back formation.
“Some of the football they played against Leicester was unreal. In the second half, they sliced through the Foxes like butter and carved them open, with Mateo Kovacic and Enzo Fernandez pulling the strings in the centre of the park.
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again – these guys are massive dangers as there’s just too much depth and quality in that squad despite how their league campaign has turned out so far.”
Resilience.
Everton side will see this test against their star-studded rivals as a game with nothing to lose from. Particularly as an extraordinary run against the Blues that has seen them not win at Stamford Bridge for 27 meetings.
With records there to be broken, the ex-Burnley manager’s game plan will be to stifle and frustrate their opposition with a compact energetic midfield, looking to hustle the creativity of the likes of Fernandez and Kovacic, denying time on the ball.
Much has changed since a Jorginho penalty secured the Blues’ a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park on the opening day of the season. Former managers Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel have both since departed as the Toffees lost by a solitary goal.
Despite the change of personnel both on and off the pitch, what will be similar is Everton’s approach to the game, with defensive resilience important for Dyche’s side to claim anything from the match.
With three clean sheets in their last seven games, the signs are promising toward gaining a valuable point in the quest to remain in the Premier League. Everton’s fate will not be decided on Saturday, however, building momentum on three points against Brentford will be crucial as relegation rivals continue to pick up results around them in the table.
All eyes are on Stamford Bridge.