Prediction: Chelsea vs Everton

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: Bet365

On Wednesday night, Chelsea will be playing host to a managerless Everton side who begin life after Ronald Koeman. Last weekend, Chelsea picked up their first three points of the month after beating Watford in a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, Antonio Conte will be hoping to progress through to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup and continue to pile on Everton’s pressure.

Chelsea

Antonio Conte must be glad to see that a struggling Everton team will be Chelsea’s next opponents come Wednesday night. Although the Blues might have come away with three points against Watford on Saturday, Chelsea were far from their best and could have easily come away empty-handed after trailing 2-1 until the 70th minute.

There win on Saturday also ended a three-match winless run for Conte’s side who had previously come up short against Roma, Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Currently sat fourth in the Premier League table, the defending champions have struggled to find the same form that led them to the title so convincingly last season, a string of injuries to key men have also hindered Chelsea’s form this year.

Defensively the Blues have looked dreadful this year and their problems have been epitomised by their form at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have already conceded ten goals in their last eight home appearances and more worryingly for Antonio Conte, Chelsea have not managed to keep a clean sheet since their 0-0 draw with Arsenal in mid-September. Already sat 9 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, the EFL Cup could become an attractive piece of silverware for their Italian Boss and Chelsea will look to play a strong team against Premier League opposition.

Team News

It appears that Conte will begin to rotate his squad selection for Wednesday night’s EFL clash. Michy Batshuayi looks set to start the Blues having scored twice against Watford on the weekend. Along with Batshuayi, former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero looks set to replace Thibaut Courtois in goal. Charlie Musonda and Brazilian Kenedy are also potential starters.

Chelsea will be without Danny Drinkwater and Victor Mosses who are still recovering from injury problems, Conte will also be missing PFA Player of the Year N’Golo Kante who picked up an injury while on international duty with France.

Everton

After yesterday announcing that Everton have parted ways with Ronald Koeman, Bill Kenwright and Everton will be planning for life after Koeman. With Everton U’23’s coach David Unsworth taking temporary charge of the team, the Toffees will be hoping to kick-start their season.

Sadly for the blue half of Merseyside, things do not seem to be getting better anytime soon. After slumping to a 5-2 defeat at home to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, Everton have dropped into the relegation zone having not won a single game in their last five attempts. At the beginning of the season, Everton’s major problem was that they could not find the back of the net, although the Toffees have now scored in six of their last seven, like Chelsea, Everton have been appalling defensively this year, shipping nine goals already this month.

Caretaker boss David Unsworth will have a tough decision on his hands come Wednesday night, will Everton look to rest some key players or will they try and begin the rebuilding process at Stamford Bridge?

Team News

Caretaker manager David Unsworth will be glad to know that both Morgan Schneiderlin and James McCarthy are back in contention for Everton and their arrival could help ease the loss of Idrissa Gueye who misses the match due to suspension.

However, Unsworth won’t be able to call upon Ross Barkley, Ramiro Funes Mori, Yannick Bolasie and Samus Coleman, all of whom are long-term injury absentees.

Key Factors to Consider

• This will be Everton’s first match without Ronald Koeman as manager
• Chelsea have put 10 past Everton without reply in their last three encounters
• Everton have failed to progress to the quarter-finals in 12 of the last 14 seasons
• Michy Batshuayi has scored five goals in his four league cup appearances for Chelsea, including a hat-trick in the last round
• Chelsea have conceded in each of their last four home appearances

Conclusion

It looks like we could be set for goals at both ends of the pitch on Wednesday night. Although Everton might be shipping goals defensively, The Toffees have started to find their finishing touch and coupled with Chelsea’s own defensive issues, Everton will be confident of replicating Crystal Palace’s surprise result earlier this month. Both teams to score at 4/5 seems like a sure bet.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: Bet365