EVERTON host Chelsea on Saturday in the Premier League. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his favourite fancies.
Everton vs Chelsea | Saturday 12th December 2020, 20:00 | BT Sport
Two sides that seem to be heading in different directions play at Goodison on Saturday, with Everton managing just one win in their last seven Premier League games and Chelsea undefeated in their last eight in the top flight.
Everton’s best XI is very competitive and they were able to play that team in their opening few fixtures. Since then, injuries and suspensions have kicked in and The Toffees suddenly look like a mi-dtable side.
This weekend they are missing Lucas Digne and Seamus Coleman so Alex Iwobi and Tom Davies are likely to play in the wing back positions. That is a huge drop off in terms of ability in my view and is one of the reasons I am siding with Chelsea this weekend.
Another reason is that I have been really impressed with Frank Lampard’s side over the last couple of months. Changing the goalkeeper and left back has had a huge impact defensively and going forward they have so many options, with the likes of Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham unable to even get in the side.
In terms of an angle, I did look at the even-money available on Chelsea to win and Over 1.5 Goals given that both have seen nine of their 11 matches include two goals or more but I will be a little more aggressive and go with Chelsea to win and Both Teams To Score, which is available at 85/40 with BetVictor. This bet obliged for me last week when Chelsea beat Leeds 3-1 and I think it is a good price once again.
Everton have scored in nine of their 11 matches this season, only failing to find the net against Southampton when they were missing key attacking personnel and Leeds, when they managed eight shots on target. Chelsea have certainly improved defensively this season but I do believe the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin can cause them plenty of problems.
Another angle I like is Allan to be booked. The Brazilian is 13/5 with William Hill (he is 3/1 with Spreadex but not sure if too many have accounts with them) to be shown a card and that looks like excellent value given that he has been booked in four of his 10 Premier League games this term.
Referee John Moss has shown just 19 yellow cards in seven games this season but if he is in to show just two or three cards on Saturday then I think Allan is very likely to be one of them given that he has made 20 fouls so far this season, the fifth highest in the league.
Given that I expect Chelsea to dominate the game, I think he will be required to make a lot of tackles and recent history tells us that he is pretty likely to mistime one.
Best Bets
Everton vs Chelsea – Chelsea to win and Both Teams To Score (85/40 BetVictor)
Everton vs Chelsea – Allan to be booked (13/5 William Hill)
