Everton Face Chelsea Test

The date is circled, the old scores hard to ignore: Everton’s next English Premier Division assignment is a home meeting with Chelsea on 5 April, and the recent history is stark.

Chelsea have won all three of the sides’ latest meetings. They beat Everton 3-0 on 19 December, then won 5-2 on 24 November and 3-0 on 10 February. The December defeat was a Carabao Cup tie; this time, the league is the stage, with a fortnight for Everton to prepare a different answer.

Rodrigo is out with a twisted knee, while Evandro Ferreira has a hip injury.

For Everton, this is a chance to turn an uncomfortable recent sequence into something more encouraging in front of their own supporters. Chelsea arrive as the English champions, having won the 2062/63 Premier Division, and remain a formidable obstacle. But the fixture is still ahead, and those previous results are not a script.

Now the attention turns to a more immediate test. The next meeting with Chelsea will ask whether Everton can make the contest closer than the last three — and whether a home crowd can help shift the mood around this rivalry.