George Overhill

Fri 8 December 2023 16:40, UK

Chris Sutton has predicted Everton to share the points with Chelsea at Goodison Park this weekend after their “impressive” win over Newcastle.

The pundit admitted in his BBC Sport column (8 December) that he had no idea which team would turn up on Merseyside on Sunday (10 December) because the Londoners are so inconsistent, but pointed at the fact they haven’t lost consecutive games yet for his reasoning of a draw – Chelsea lost 2-1 at Manchester United at the same time Sean Dyche’s side won 3-0 over the Magpies.

So Sutton has gone for a 1-1 final scoreline while praising the work the Toffees boss is doing with the embattled side, who would be going into this clash above their opponents in the Premier League table were it not for the 10-point penalty imposed on them.

Sutton said: “What a job Sean Dyche is doing at Everton. His side are out of the relegation zone after beating Newcastle on Thursday, and they would be above Chelsea if not for their 10-point deduction.

“The challenge for Everton here is similar to the one Aston Villa face against Arsenal – they need to follow up an impressive performance in midweek – but which Chelsea will turn up to try and stop them?

“Mauricio Pochettino’s side were all over the place against Manchester United, but at least they carried a threat despite losing that game.

“I don’t mind admitting I don’t have a clue what to expect from Chelsea here, but they actually haven’t lost two consecutive games all season, so I might as well go for that run to continue.”

Form

Nothing is guaranteed in the Premier League but the Stamford Bridge side have a bad enough record at Goodison Park without Everton coming off the back of arguably their best performance of the season.

The points were in the balance on Thursday night despite the Toffees having the better of the chances, but as soon as Kieran Trippier made a couple of key errors the home side pounced with a decisiveness that has been missing in recent seasons.

The result provided the occasion that the fans had been waiting for on Merseyside to give a clear sign of fight in the wake of the points deduction, and on top of the battling 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest has the club decisively on the up again.

Chelsea on the other hand, despite a solid win over Brighton at the weekend, were comfortably second best at Old Trafford.

Mauricio Pochettino will no-doubt expect a reaction from his men, but likely won’t be especially looking forward to a trip to Goodison in order to find it.

Dyche and the players should go into this one with plenty of belief that they can win, and after finally taking three chances to secure a home victory that looked like going the same way as some frustrating defeats this side might have turned a corner in front of their own fans.

In other Everton news, the Toffees takeover is now being deemed “unlikely” according to sources close to the process.