Chelsea are looking for their first home win of the season against Everton at Stamford Bridge as they look to defend their sixth Premier League title.
Both clubs come into the game off the back of positive results, with Chelsea having beaten Tottenham 2-1 in the first Premier League game to be played at Stamford Bridge. Everton, meanwhile, are unbeaten so far this season, winning their opening game of the season 1-0 against Stoke City before drawing 1-1 at Manchester City.
Chelsea will, however, hope to give their fans more to cheer about after losing their first home game of the season against Burnley.
CHELSEA INJURIES
The worst of Antonio Conte's selection problems may be over after he introduced Tiemoue Bakayoko for his debut against Tottenham. The £40 million arrival from Monaco played the full 90 minutes and remains in contention to face Everton.
Pedro returned from an ankle injury to assist Marcos Alonso's late winner against Spurs and he could be ready to start against the Toffees.
Eden Hazard, meanwhile, is closing in on his return but failed to make the squad in the last fixture, with it seeming unlikely he will be involved just yet. Conte said that he will travel with the club's U23s side to face Everton away and he will be assessed again after that game.
Diego Costa has been ordered back to Cobham to train but he remains away from the first team group and still in Brazil. He has no chance of playing against Everton and is expected to be sold in the coming days.
Getty Images
CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS
Gary Cahill remains suspended after his straight red card against Burnley. Cesc Fabregas returns from his suspension, though, having been sent off for two yellow cards in the same game.
Victor Moses returned to face Tottenham and will play in his first home game of the season after missing the match against Burnley.
POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Chelsea used a 3-5-2 formation against Tottenham as their impressive rear-guard display earned them three points. Conte generally prefers to use a 3-4-3 formation when he can and he may return to that system against Everton, with more players returning from injury.
Moses showed against Spurs that he was key to providing Chelsea with balance and Pedro could start again to allow his side play with three attackers.
Alvaro Morata started against Tottenham and he will likely continue despite having a tough afternoon and failing to find the net. Conte is faced with a decision to make in central midfield, though, with question marks over who should partner N'Golo Kante.
David Luiz will likely return to play at centre-back, despite his all-star display at Wembley in a holding midfield position.
Chelsea will likely have a youthful bench for the third week in a row but the club are trying to add new players in the transfer market before August 31.
Goal
EVERTON TEAM NEWS
Chelsea's selection problems have been widely debated but Everton face a host of injury woes and issues with suspension ahead of their away trip.
Yannick Bolasie, Ramiro Funes Mori and Seamus Coleman are out with serious long-term injuries. The first two have sustained cruciate ligament damage, while Coleman broke his leg while on international duty.
Ross Barkley is out for six weeks with a hamstring injury but his future is also in doubt with Chelsea and Tottenham competing for his signature. Sandro Ramírez and James McCarthy are also doubts for the match.
Getty Images
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
-
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 22 home Premier League games against Everton since a 0-1 loss in November 1994 (W12 D10). Only against Tottenham (25) are they on a longer unbeaten Premier League run at Stamford Bridge.
-
Chelsea haven’t lost back to back home Premier League games since November 2011 when they were managed by Andre Villas-Boas.
-
The Toffees have only lost one of their last 11 Premier League games against the reigning champions (W6 D4); a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in December 2014.
-
Wayne Rooney scored his 200th Premier League goal in Everton’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Monday night. He managed this feat in his 462nd game, while the only other player to reach 200; Alan Shearer (260), did this in 306 matches.
-
Everton had eight English players in their starting XI for their last Premier League game at Manchester City. One of the eight players in their last match was Tom Davies, who wasn’t born when Everton last did this on Boxing Day 1997.
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match kicks off at 13:30 BST but it is not due to be shown live in the UK. The game's highlights will be first televised on BBC's Match of the Day 2.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
