The Premier League leaders Chelsea are all set to take on Everton at Goodison Park later today. And with their only other title rivals, Tottenham set to play Arsenal later, a win today will be massive for them as Antonio Conte looks to win the Premier League title in first season in charge at Chelsea.
The Blues face a tough test against Everton and with Tottenham in excellent form they need a win to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Despite Chelsea going into this match on the back of an impressive 4-2 win over Southampton, the Blues will not have an easy match against Everton today. Ronald Koeman has transformed Everton into a top club in the Premier League and is trying to get them into Europe next season. Everton have lost just one match from their last five games and Conte and his men will not have it easy at Goodison Park today.
Everton do not have any new injuries or suspensions to deal with ahead of this match. Enner Valencia will be back for selection after the striker was ineligible to face parent club West Ham last week. The likes of Muhamed Besic, James McCarthy, Ramiro Funes Mori, Yannick Bolasie, and Seamus Coleman will miss out through long term injuries.
Everton have been really impressive at home this season and Koeman wants that to continue against Chelsea today. The Dutchman feels that his team lacked intensity in their draw against West Ham and was hoping that changed today.
"Maybe we need to change our mentality a bit because I felt a bit less intensity in the game last week, maybe a bit less motivation. It is always difficult if you have already the seventh position in the pocket and maybe they get a little bit more holiday or end-of-season feeling," BBC quoted Koeman as saying.
"That is what I don't like. We like to keep momentum at home, we are strong at home and we know what we need (to do) to face the best team of the Premier League."
Just like Everton, Chelsea too have lost just one match from their previous five matches and Conte will be hoping to get the win today to maintain the lead they have on Tottenham at the moment. With Tottenham set to play Arsenal later on, they could end up dropping points and Conte knows how important today will be.
The Italian is not at all under estimating Everton today and is expecting a really tough match as according to him Everton have some really quality players and are a physical team too.
"Everton are a really good team, a strong team with great players in their squad, good quality. A physical team also. They have a good manager and play exciting football. For sure it will be a really tough game for us but at the end of the season, I think every game becomes tough for many different reasons," Conte said.
"When they play at home they are strong. For us it is very important to look at ourselves, to prepare very well for this type of game."
Chelsea have no injuries or suspensions so Conte will be expected to field out a similar starting 11 as he has done for most of this season. Former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku will have a point to prove against his former club and the fact that he has not scored in all of his five matches against Chelsea could be a cause for concern for Koeman.
Where to watch
The Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea is set to start at 2:05pm local time, 6:35pm IST and 9:05am EST.
TV and Live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports Select HD1. Live streaming: Hotstar
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD. Live streaming: Sky GO
USA: TV: CNBC, NBC UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo. Live streaming: NBC Sports live
Africa: TV: SuperSport 3 Africa. Live streaming: SuperSport live.
Middle East: TV: beIN Sports Arabia. Live streaming: beIN SPORTS CONNECT
