Everton saw a win slip away in dramatic fashion against a London club last Saturday, and Roberto Martinez and co. will hope there will be no repeat of that result when they host another team from the capital in Chelsea in the English Premier League at Goodison Park.
Where to Watch Live
The match is scheduled to start at 10 pm IST (5.30 pm BST, 12.30 pm ET) with live coverage on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2 in India. The EPL match can also be watched via Live Streaming online in India HERE. TV coverage in the UK will be on Sky Sports 1, with the option to Live Stream HERE or HERE. Viewers in the UK can also listen to the match via radio on Talksport or HERE.
Catch the game in the US on NBC Sports, while the action can also be Live Streamed online HERE. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match via Live Streaming HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same HERE. Australia viewers can Live Stream the action HERE, while viewers in Canada can do the same HERE. Latin America viewers can view the EPL game live online HERE.
Everton were pretty impressive for large periods against Arsenal last weekend, before a stirring fightback from Arsene Wenger's men saw the match end 2-2, when for 82 minutes it looked destined to finish 2-0 in the home side's favour.
Everton will know Chelsea are a different style of team, and will pose a different challenge, but the Toffees, nonetheless, will want to stick to the game plan that they employed against Arsenal which worked for the majority of the game.
The match will also have an extra edge to it, with two former Chelsea strikers – Romelu Lukaku, who made a £28 million switch in the summer, and Samuel Eto'o, who signed on a free after the Blues released him – chomping at the bit to have a go at their old team.
"Rom has strong inner strength and I don't think he is motivated by who he is facing or who is in front of him," Martinez told evertontv when asked about Lukaku's motivations ahead of the Chelsea game. "It's more about his role and status at Everton -- he is a vital player for us and he is enjoying and embracing that.
"I do feel that we are going to see the best of Rom this season and I am really excited by his performances ahead in all different competitions, not because he is facing a former club. He's fresh and wants to enjoy every moment that he is out on the football pitch. He's going to take full advantage of his role at the club."
Eto'o only signed for Everton earlier this week, and having had little to no formal training before the start of the season, the Cameroonian is a doubt for the game, with Martinez admitting he will assess the condition of the striker before taking a call.
"It is difficult," said the manager, who will also be without Bryan Oviedo, Arouna Kone, Ross Barkley, Steven Pienaar and Christian Atsu. "Realistically I would have liked Samuel to have 10 or 11 sessions before we put him in a competitive environment and I tried to have that conversation.
"But I quite quickly learned that I was wasting my time. He wants to be helpful to the team straight away and he wants to be involved. Everything will go down to what condition he is in to make that decision."
Everton, who beat Chelsea at home last season, for Martinez's first Premier League win as manager, have only picked up two points so far in this season's Premier League – both 2-2 draws – and they will be up against a Chelsea side yet to drop a single point, following victories over Burnley and Leicester City.
Leicester gave Chelsea a real fight at Stamford Bridge last weekend, before Diego Costa's goal early in the second half, tilted the match in the home team's favour. It does look like Costa will be vital to Chelsea's fortunes this season, but Jose Mourinho might have to make do without the Spain international, after the striker suffered a hamstring injury in training.
"In this moment I can't say much," said Mourinho on Friday. "We are trying everything for him to play tomorrow. He didn't train for the last two days, but today is the last day and we must make a decision to select him or not.
"He has to try a light training session to see if the reaction is positive. If it is, we take him to Everton to play or be on the bench. If the reaction is not positive today then obviously we don't select him. Let's see."
If Costa is ruled out, Chelsea will be light on the striker front, with Fernando Torres closing in on a move to AC Milan after the two clubs agreed on a two-year loan deal. That leaves only Didier Drogba as their real proven central striker, and how ironic it would be if the two forwards, who were let go by Chelsea in the summer, were the ones to land a couple of telling blows on Saturday.
Expected lineups: Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Naismith, Osman, Mirallas; Lukaku.
Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Drogba.
Prediction: 2-2
