Don’t you think Chelsea will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the season when they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening?
The bigwigs of English football will be in action on Sunday, with major implications on the title race. One of these games will feature Chelsea, who can see Maurizio Sarri break the Premier League record of the longest unbeaten start in the competition by a manager, when they play hosts to Everton at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have taken to Maurizio Sarri’s ways like fish to water, which reflects in their unbeaten start to the season. In fact, Chelsea are the only English outfit that are yet to lose a game across all competitions this season, which invariably reflects in the position they find themselves in in the Premier League – second on the table, only two points behind Manchester City.
Everton, on the other hand, have been a little hit and miss under the tutelage of Marco Silva, who still hasn’t stamped his authority at Goodison Park so far. The big pitfall in the first three months of his reign has been the Toffees’ inability to string together a healthy run of positive results. And, the game against Chelsea could prove to be another little setback.
The corresponding fixture last season had yielded a comfortable 2-0 win for Chelsea, with Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas finding the back of the net. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the Premier League encounter.
Maurizio Sarri has a near clean bill of health to boast of ahead of the visit of Everton. On Sunday, Cesc Fabregas (illness) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (back) will be the only players whose availability will be in doubt. With the duo not being regulars, the manager will not be sweating too much.
The main focus of Sarri’s attention will be Eden Hazard, who proved his fitness in the Europa League tie against BATE Borisov earlier this week, albeit in a rather subdued performance. The Belgian should be in the starting lineup against Everton as well, although the Chelsea boss should manage his minutes to an extent.
Meanwhile, the likes of David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Alvaro Morata were rested for the midweek European tie, and should slot back into the starting lineup. Morata could face some competition from Olivier Giroud, who signalled a return to form against BATE Borisov. Do you think this will work out for Maurizio Sarri?