Chelsea
The Champions have suffered a drastic dip in form and morale over the past month, going from a seemingly invincible position to extremely fragile in a span of four weeks. They were insipid for large periods against Newcastle last weekend and in the process lost top spot in the Premier League to arch-rivals Manchester United. Carlo Ancelotti must be bewildered by the nature of their performances during this difficult period. Liverpool and Sunderland completely outplayed them while they lost to Birmingham in spite of creating numerous goal scoring opportunities, thanks to an inspired performance by Ben Foster in goal. But the common thread in all these games has been their frailty in defence and lack of creativity in midfield. The loss of Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and John Terry has hampered them greatly and Ancelotti will be eager for his "Big Three" to return to action.
These past few weeks have exposed the soft core at Chelsea, with their bench strength in particular coming under scrutiny. The club has failed to replace the likes of Deco, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti, who departed over the summer and have paid the price for banking on the raw talents of Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta and Patrick Van Vanholt. Roman Abrahmovic's transfer policy in recent years has led to an age disparity in the squad and with Carlo Ancelotti wielding very little power at Stamford Bridge, a drastic change in the recruitment of players seems unlikely.
They have a taxing few games coming up where they play Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal in consecutive weeks and are in real danger of losing vital ground to Manchester United and Arsenal in the title race. United always come good around Christmas and Chelsea will find it hard to dislodge Sir Alex Ferguson's men, especially if they extend their two point lead come this weekend.
Everton
Everton are in the midst of a poor run that has seen them win only one out of the last seven games. It's been all downhill for the Toffees since their impressive 2-0 victory over Liverpool in mid-October, a period in which they have lost two, drawn four and won just a solitary game. They have been really awful on the road too, winning just one out of seven games away from Goodison Park all season. But in spite of their inconsistency, they lie just four points off the last European spot, which is currently occupied by Sunderland.
David Moyes' side have failed to convert draws into victories this season, with the defence and attack sharing the blame. The front three of Jermaine Beckford, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Louis Saha have scored a combined total of just two goals in the Premier League. As usual, they have had to depend on goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta to get them out of a tight spot, with the pair scoring 11 goals between them in the League. Unlike last season, Moyes has a fully fit defence at his disposal, but their usually parsimonious defence has managed to keep just one clean sheet all season, a 0-0 draw against Fulham.
Everton tend to pick up speed after Christmas, but with the close nature of the League this season they can ill afford to drop further points. They have vital games against Wigan, Manchester City and Birmingham City coming up and in the larger scheme of things David Moyes will consider anything gained from the game against Chelsea a bonus.
Chelsea vs. Everton Live Stream: The Blues are currently second in the Premier League (two points behind Manchester United) having failed to secure victory in their last three games. However, Carlo Ancelotti’s side could move back to No.1 this weekend as the match between Blackpool and the Red Devils has been postponed due to a frozen pitch at Bloomfield Road.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-CommercialChelsea will be boosted by the return of captain John Terry after recovering from a nerve problem in his thigh which has kept him on the sidelines for the past four weeks. Ghana midfielder Michael Essien also returns after a three-game ban but England playmaker Frank Lampard remains out. Terry’s comeback should empower the West Londoners’ defence although the 29-year-old centre back has dismal memories of his last encounter with Everton when he was at fault for both home goals when the Blues were defeated at Goodison Park.
The Toffees arrive at Stamford Bridge on the back of five games without a win, and Everton boss David Moyes brings his side to London minus Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta, who is currently suspended following his dismissal in the 4-1 home defeat by West Brom.
The match kicks-off at 15:00 GMT. Updates and free live stream links where you can watch Chelsea vs. Everton will be posted shortly.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial
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