Everton vs Chelsea: All the talking points

Chelsea face their first away trip outside London this season when they travel to Merseyside to take on Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. Premier League fixture.

The encounter marks Chelsea’s second visit to Everton’s new home, with the Blues eager to bounce back from their previous meeting at the stadium, where they suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat earlier this year.

Chelsea head into the contest in encouraging form following their emphatic 5-1 victory over Bournemouth last weekend. The result leaves them with one more win, four additional goals and two more points than they had at the corresponding stage of the previous campaign.

The Blues have also developed a habit of scoring early this season, breaking the deadlock five times in the opening stages of their league matches. Their ability to strike quickly could prove valuable against an Everton side that has remained unbeaten so far this term.

Everton, meanwhile, drew 2-2 with Hull City on Sunday, scoring the first league goals conceded by the Tigers at home this season.

The match presents an intriguing contest between Chelsea’s potent attacking force and Everton’s impressive defensive record. The fixture has featured in every Premier League season since 1989, making it a familiar rivalry for both clubs.

Chelsea have enjoyed considerable success in early Saturday kick-offs, remaining unbeaten in their last 10 matches played in the 12:30 p.m. slot, recording eight victories and two draws. Their most recent appearance in that time window ended in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield in May.

A victory on Saturday would see Chelsea move above Everton in the league standings and could lift them as high as fourth place, depending on the outcome of Brentford’s clash with Liverpool later in the day.

Chelsea’s historical struggles at Everton

Despite their recent form, Chelsea face a difficult challenge given their record on Everton’s home turf. Only Liverpool, where the Blues have suffered 50 league defeats, have proved a more troublesome away destination than Everton, against whom Chelsea have lost 44 times—the same number as against Arsenal.

Goodison Park hosted most of those defeats, accounting for 43 of them. However, Chelsea’s 3-0 loss at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in March was their heaviest defeat away to Everton since a 4-1 reverse in October 1987.

Before that setback, Chelsea had gone four matches without defeat against the Toffees, winning three of those encounters.

Their most recent victory at Goodison Park came in August 2022, when Jorginho converted a penalty to secure the points and end a run of four consecutive defeats at the ground.

Chelsea’s history at Everton stretches back more than a century. Their first league victory at Goodison came in April 1908, when George Hilsdon scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 triumph.

The Blues also recorded a memorable 3-2 victory on Merseyside in August 1919, shortly after the resumption of football following the First World War. They repeated the scoreline three years later, although another 26 years passed before they claimed all three points there again, with Roy Bentley scoring in another 3-2 win.

In October 1956, Chelsea secured a 3-0 victory through two goals from Les Stubbs. Further memorable successes followed, including a 2-0 win in March 1969, courtesy of goals from Alan Birchenall and Ian Hutchinson.

Gordon Davies scored a hat-trick in a thrilling 4-3 victory in December 1984, while Steve Clarke helped Chelsea secure another win four years later. That same scoreline also featured in the Blues’ first Premier League visit to Goodison Park, with Robert Fleck making his mark.

Chelsea later enjoyed a prolonged period of dominance over Everton, going unbeaten against them home and away in all competitions between 2001 and 2010. That run included their 2009 FA Cup final triumph and Didier Drogba’s dramatic late goal in a 3-2 league victory in December 2006.

Two goals from Frank Lampard secured a 2-1 win just before New Year in 2012, launching a productive spell in which Chelsea recorded three victories across five visits.

Other notable results included a thrilling 6-3 triumph in August 2014, when Diego Costa scored twice, and a 3-0 victory in 2017 after Chelsea scored three times in a 21-minute second-half spell.

However, their 1-0 success in 2022 remains their only victory at Everton since that period.

Key statistics ahead of the match

Chelsea have several encouraging numbers to take into Saturday’s encounter. Both Chelsea and Everton have committed fewer fouls than any other Premier League side this season, with 50 and 44 respectively.

Joao Pedro has converted five of his 13 shots into goals, while Chelsea boast the league’s second-best shot-conversion rate at 18.29 per cent, behind Manchester City’s 19.28 per cent.

Everton have registered 14 high turnovers that resulted in shots, the highest tally in the division this season, although only one has led to a goal.

Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer have combined to create 24 attempts on goal this campaign.

Chelsea’s early scoring has been particularly remarkable. The Blues have scored six league goals within the opening seven minutes of matches, representing 40 per cent of their total. Four of those strikes came within the first three minutes, leaving the club one short of its record for an entire Premier League season, set during the 2014/15 title-winning campaign.

Their recent victory over Bournemouth also produced an individual milestone. Jordan Henderson, aged 36 years and 115 days, became Chelsea’s oldest English goalscorer since John Terry scored against Watford in May 2017.

Henderson also scored and assisted within two minutes and 29 seconds against Bournemouth. Only Emile Heskey, who achieved the feat against Derby County in April 1998 in less than two minutes, has completed the double more quickly in a Premier League match.

With Chelsea’s attacking momentum and Everton’s defensive resilience set to collide, Saturday’s encounter promises to be a demanding test for both sides. The Blues will hope their improved form and early goals can help them overcome their difficult record on Merseyside and strengthen their push towards the top four.

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