Everton vs Chelsea preview, team news, h2h, tips: Unbeaten Toffees aim to stop leaky Blues

It is Everton vs Chelsea at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday as the Toffees look for the result that keeps them ahead of the visiting Blues in the Premier League.

Everton go into the weekend unbeaten in six league matches, level on ten points with a Chelsea side that has scored goals for fun but leaked almost as many at the other end.

Match radar: Everton vs Chelsea

⚽ Everton vs Chelsea
Competition	Premier League 2026/27, Matchday 8
Kickoff	Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 12:30 PM (UK and Nigeria share the same clock this weekend)
Venue	Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
Where to Watch	Check local Nigerian pay-TV and streaming listings closer to kickoff
Chelsea have conceded 13 goals in six league games this season, more than double Everton’s five.

Everton vs Chelsea: Form and context

Everton have drawn four of their last five league games, including a goalless trip to Tottenham and back-to-back 2-2 scorelines against Hull City and Manchester United.

That run has kept them unbeaten, but it also means David Moyes’ side have won only one of their last five.

Chelsea’s form has been the opposite extreme: a 5-1 thrashing of Bournemouth and a 4-3 shootout win over Brighton either side of back-to-back defeats at Brentford and Arsenal.

Both approaches have produced ten points from six matches, with Everton fifth and Chelsea sixth on goal difference alone.

Chelsea’s 15 goals in six matches are almost double Everton’s eight, a gap that explains why the Blues remain the bookmakers’ favourites despite sitting one place below their hosts.

Head-to-head: Everton vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s record at Hill Dickinson Stadium has been poor for a long time.

The Blues, still linked with a possible January move for Victor Osimhen, have won just one of their last nine Premier League visits to Everton, losing six of the other eight.

Everton, a traditional home for Nigerian footballers, won the most recent meeting 3-0 on home soil last season.

Across all 174 Premier League meetings between the two clubs, Everton have the edge: 56 wins to Chelsea’s 65, with 53 draws in between.

That overall record favours the home side once travel is stripped out, since Everton’s 87 home meetings have produced 44 wins, 24 draws and only 19 defeats.

Chelsea’s away record at Everton reads 12 wins, 29 draws and 46 losses from the same 87 fixtures.

History, then, sits firmly with the home side this weekend.

Everton vs Chelsea: Team news and predicted XI

Reece James has been managing a knee issue and missed Chelsea’s win over Bournemouth, with Tuesday’s training session also skipped.

Jamie Gittens remains out with an ankle injury picked up before the international break.

Emanuel Emegha is a doubt too, nursing a hamstring strain that kept him out of contention last time out.

Xabi Alonso is expected to stick with a back three of Lacroix, Acheampong and Colwill in front of Emiliano Martínez, with Neto and Chavarría providing width in a 3-4-2-1.

Vitaliy Mykolenko is Everton’s only real fitness concern, after picking up a knock on international duty with Ukraine.

David Moyes still has Jarrad Branthwaite able to fill in at left-back if needed.

Christian Nørgaard has only just returned to full training and is unlikely to be risked from the start.

Everton	Chelsea
Mykolenko — doubt (Ukraine duty knock) Nørgaard — short on sharpness, bench risk	Reece James — doubt (knee) Gittens — out (ankle) Emegha — doubt (hamstring)

Everton vs Chelsea: Star player comparison

Thierno Barry has been Everton’s most reliable finisher this season, with three goals in six Premier League appearances.

He has started every one of those six games and already looks like Moyes’ first-choice number nine.

João Pedro has been sharper still for Chelsea, scoring five goals and adding three assists from only five appearances.

That return makes him the most productive forward on either team by a distance.

Cole Palmer remains the shorter price in the goalscorer markets because of his set-piece and penalty duties, but João Pedro’s all-round numbers make him the player Everton’s back line should worry about most.

Barry’s record is built on fewer chances but a higher conversion rate, which says as much about Everton’s struggle to create as it does about his finishing.

Thierno Barry ST · Everton	Stat	João Pedro ST · Chelsea
3	Goals	5
0	Assists	3
6	Appearances	5
502	Minutes played	432

Everton vs Chelsea: The managers

David Moyes returned to Everton for a second spell and has overseen an unbeaten start that few predicted after last season’s relegation battle.

His sides have always been difficult to break down, and this Everton team is no exception, with just five goals conceded in six matches.

Xabi Alonso arrived at Chelsea this year after making his name at Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid.

He has built an attack capable of scoring five against Bournemouth and four against Brighton, but his back three has also shipped three or more goals in three of Chelsea’s six league games.

Getting the balance right between those two extremes is Alonso’s biggest task heading into the second quarter of the season.

Everton vs Chelsea: Tactical preview

Moyes has set Everton up with a double pivot of James Garner and Harrison Armstrong screening the back four, which has helped keep four of the last five games level.

Jack Grealish and Brennan Johnson then look to isolate Chelsea’s wing-backs in wide areas, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall linking play through the middle.

Alonso’s back three of Lacroix, Acheampong and Colwill can be pulled apart by quick combinations in behind, which is exactly the kind of space Thierno Barry thrives in.

Chelsea’s own threat comes from Neto and Chavarría pushing high from wing-back, with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers rotating off João Pedro up top.

If Caicedo and Henderson get pulled wide to cover Everton’s wingers, the space in front of Chelsea’s back three could be where this game is decided.

The Naija Slip: Everton vs Chelsea

Score prediction: Everton vs Chelsea

🔮 Everton 1 – 2 Chelsea

Chelsea’s attack has carried them to ten points despite a leaky defence, and João Pedro’s current scoring run should edge a tight game at Hill Dickinson. Likely scorers: João Pedro, Cole Palmer, Thierno Barry.