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Premier League Preview: Conte’s Chelsea host Koeman’s Everton

While a Chelsea win is the likely outcome, one can expect Everton to make life difficult for the Blues!

Premier League Preview: Conte’s Chelsea host Koeman’s Everton

Diego Costa (Photo: Facebook)

An increasingly confident Chelsea host an inconsistent but dangerous Everton side in the showpiece English Premier League tie late on Saturday.
Chelsea have found their swagger of late, banging in the goals but will be wary of the Ronald Koeman’s men who are just two places and four points behind them in the table.
While a Chelsea win is the likely outcome, one can expect Everton to make life difficult for the Blues!
Chelsea
Chelsea are among the most in-form sides in the Premier League, having picked up steam after their damaging defeat to Arsenal in September.
Manager Antonio Conte has managed to stamp his style into a side that horribly underperformed last season, making his unorthodox 3-4-3 formation work with spectacular results
Eden Hazard’s talent had never been in doubt, rather his temperament, but the diminutive winger has been proving his doubters wrong with some sensational displays recently. Along with him Chelsea have the Premier League’s top-scorer Diego Costa, to thank for their recent resurgence.
Costa simply can’t stop scoring at the moment and with a solidly stacked midfield behind him, it is not hard to understand why. Summer signing N’Golo Kante has been excellent in midfield but it is the unheralded Victor Moses who has raised quite a few eyebrows with his displays of late.
Chelsea have had Kurt Zouma and Cesc Fabregas return to training but they are unlikely to feature for the Everton game.
Everton
After a great start to the season which saw them win six out of seven games, Everton have been been humbled in recent weeks by the likes of Burnley and Bournemouth.
The fact that they held Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and then beat West Ham comprehensively over the weekend proves that the Toffees cannot be taken for granted.
Romelu Lukaku is Koeman’s main man up front, and the ex-Chelsea striker will feel he has a point to prove against his old club. The Belgian is among the Premier League’s leading goal scorers with 7 strikes to his name and and may just add another at Stamford Bridge.
The defence is marshalled by Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka who will have to manage an essential balance in their 4-3-3 formation which is built to attack.
Everton are still without the services of injured trio of Leighton Baines, James Mc Carthy and Arouna Kane and will have to make do without the suspended Idrissa Gueye.
Maareten Steklenburg, however, is fit to play and should start in goal which is a big boost for manager Koeman.
Super Stat: Everton manager Ronald Koeman is unbeaten at Stamford Bridge as a Premier League manager, having collected four points from his two previous trips!

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