Live Blog
45+3’ – Halftime whistle, there were three minutes added on. All the wind taken out of Everton’s sails there, they spurned their chances, while the hosts had a couple of good ones and took advantage, 2-0
to Chelsea at the break.
45’ – Cross from Garner from a promising position but it’s too close to Sanchez. He sets the hosts off on a counter through Neto who does well to beat Myko, finds Gusto coming in between Garner and Tarky and scores. Pickford got a hand on it but beaten at the near post again, 2-0 and a dagger into the Everton hearts especially as they were attacking well.
44’ – Excellent deep diagonal missed by Chalobah and Grealish is in on goal.. from a very narrow angle he tries to chip Sanchez but the goalie can save it.
42’ – Everton pressing now and moving the ball around, Ndiaye finds JOB with acres of space to cross, and he overcooks his cross and puts it out. Oooof.
39’ – Now JOB in space on the right, low cross into the middle and Ndiaye makes a mess of his kick!
Gana in the box on the right, zips a ball through the six-yard box and Barry is inches away from contact!! Oooh, Sanchez got his fingertips on it and that changed the trajectory.
Two excellent chances there out of nothing.
37’ – Gana fouled on the edge of the attacking third. Garner’s ball is deep and bounces off the ground and makes it difficult for Tarky to head down or across the goal, he puts it into the side netting on the bounce. That was a chance, especially with 3-4 cream shirts all offside but the Everton centrehalf was onside.
32’ – Everton’s inability to hold the ball in the Chelsea half is allowing the hosts to keep heaping pressure on the Blues.
Grealish’s cross blocked by Gusto, corner to the Toffees. Garner outswinger, cleared. Grealish tries to distribute it, Garner second cross in is also cleared and then Gana fouls Neto and the moment is gone.
30’ – Foul by Enzo on Gana not called, Cucurella plays on and it’s a shooting chance for Neto, Vitaliy Mykolenko blocks his shot and goes down. He’s receiving some attention, should be okay to continue.
29’ – Everton looking shaky when Chelsea are on the ball in their defensive areas, cross into the middle is met by Enzo, weak header that Pickford gathers.
Another cross with more zing and this one Pickford claims.
25’ – Cucurella hits Ndiaye on his follow-through and the Everton player is struggling.
23’ – Chelsea have their tails up as Garnacho receives a ball and fires over at the near post on the other side now.
Oh! A poor, poor back pass from Alcaraz coming back falls for Garnacho and with the goal gaping he puts it just on the other side of the post. Tarky did well putting some pressure on him, but what a mistake. Toffees very very lucky not to be two down here.
21’ – Ice-cold Cole Palmer, Chelsea lead 1-0. Too easy for the hosts there as Chalobah finds Palmer slipping in behind Gana and ahead of Keane, the Chelsea player beats Jordan Pickford at the near post, had given his fellow England international too much space there.
20’ – Enzo ball cut out and Garner finds Ndiaye, he cuts in and fires a low shot straight at Sanchez, there was a chance for O’Brien to get a touch on it but couldn’t.
18’ – Jack Grealish barged over by the touchline by Neto, and it’s a freekick to Everton. Garner’s ball into the box, corner. Taken short, Grealish beats Palmer with a deep cross, James Tarkowski puts it back into the six-yard box and Chelsea hack clear.
15’ – Been pretty quiet for the first fifteen here, Everton have had 41% of the possession, and no shots on goal from either side.
14’ – This looks bad. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is down and receiving medical attention, word is that it’s a hamstring issue. Looks like his afternoon is over, he’s leaving holding his right hamstring, and it will be Carlos Alcaraz on for him.
12’ – Ball has been mostly in the middle third of the pitch, now Chelsea try a deep diagonal for Garnacho but it’s overcooked by Neto and goes out for a goalkick.
10’ – Jake O’Brien harries Cucurella and is getting under his skin, wins a deep throw but nothing comes of it.
5’ – Iliman Ndiaye’s quick feet gets him some space, his shot is deflected wide for a corner. Garner inswinger, cleared.
1’ – Underway at Stamford Bridge with Garner kicking off!
Starting Lineups
Everton – No surprises here, Gueye comes back into the XI with Garner alongside him.
Chelsea – Maresca has Fofana available.
Match Preview
This brave and bold new Everton have an opportunity to banish another unsightly record this weekend when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. This ground has been a house of horrors for the Blues for a very long time, with their last Premier League win here coming in late November 1994. Joe Royle had just taken over after the sacking of Mike Walker, and immediately led the Blues to two wins, one in the Merseyside Derby and then a 1-0 win at Chelsea with Paul Rideout’s goal the difference.
It has been a long run of futility since then as Chelsea’s star took off the next decade with the arrival of Roman Abramovich while David Moyes would eventually take over the Toffees, with the two teams’ paths then colliding famously again in the 2009 FA Cup Final with the London side prevailing 2-1.
Everton have won four of their last five as they visit Chelsea on Saturday afternoon and will be boosted by the return of Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam from suspension, though Seamus Coleman, Merlin Röhl, and Jarrad Branthwaite remain out.
For the hosts, Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk are suspended. Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are all out injured, and Wesley Fofana faces a late fitness test.
Match Details
Competition: Premier League Matchweek 16
Date and start time: Saturday, December 13th at 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m ET / 3:00 p.m. BST
Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London, England, United Kingdom
Capacity: 40,341
Weather: 46°F/8°C, cloudy, 10% chance of precipitation, 11 mph winds
How to Watch/Listen
TV: USA Network, UNIVERSO – United States; N/A – United Kingdom; FuboTV Canada, DAZN Canada – Canada, beIN Sports HD 4, SuperSport Premier League ROA, SuperSport MaXimo 2, Canal+ Sport 4 Afrique, Star Sports Select 2
Radio: evertontv, SiriusXM FC
Live stream: Fubo, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO NOW, Fubo Sports Network Canada, ESPN Play Sur, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH, Jio Hotstar
Gamethread: There will be a live blog for this game, with our coverage continuing after the final whistle with the match recap and reaction.
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Information from LiveSoccerTV.com
Last Meeting
The two blue sides had last met at Stamford Bridge in April of this year with the Toffees losing 1-0.
