Everton - Chelsea Game comments

Carling League Cup: Everton vs Chelsea

Everton didn’t have luck at Stamford Bridge. They had a player in hand for half an hour, managed to level the score and impose their tempo but they didn’t last till the last whistle. A clumsy move of defender Lescott (he scored an own goal) during the last attack, Chelsea neutralised the good play of the Toffees and that is why Everton must win in this match.

Chelsea want the trophy

In the first game of the semifinals in Carling Cup, the luck was on the side of Avram Grant's team. They took an early lead and even after Mikele was sent off they were equal with Everton on the quality. They attacked constantly, managed to take the lead again and in the last minutes of the game they had luck and Lescott scored the equalizer. Last weekend they played against Birmingham and won 1:0 and since the team won’t be able to fight for the title, home cups are their priority. Additional stimulus for the players will be the fact that they haven’t been defeated at Goodison in the last seven games.
The African Cup disturbed the state on the bench of Chelsea. Four starters (Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou) are in Ghana and Terry, Lampard and Schevchenko are still injured. Grant can’t count on the last 6 starters and that is why they brought back-ups in this transfer window, Anelka and Ivanovic. French attacker had his debut two weeks ago, and Ivanovic could have his precisely in this game.

Everton are getting better…

The Toffees made up their team lat winter, marked a good result in the championship (6th place) and now they want more. The team used weak form of their city rivals (Liverpool) and they are 4th on the standings at the moment. In the match against Chelsea, Moyes’ players or the strength – defense left Wright – Phillips alone twice and he knew how to punish that. The team will have the support of 40 000 players of their fans but what doesn’t favour them is a very unpleasant tradition. Last time they beat Chelsea was more than seven years ago and now is the right time to end that negative streak. The guests will play with the combined line-up (6 starters won’t play) and this goes in favour of the hosts.
Everton won’t be able to count on 4 players – Yobo, Pienaar and Yakubu, and Hibbert will be out of the team till the end of January because of suspension.

Betting Verdict

In the last game Chelsea showed that even with ten players they can be better on the field than Everton. They are about to play a very tough match in Liverpool but the tradition and good games (even with the combined team) give the guests the role of a favourite. In the first half Everton wont rush towards the opposite net but in the second 45 minutes we expect total offensive. Tradition tells us that in 4 out of 5 last duels of these teams at Goodison, there were always little goals, so this is a better choice than away win.

Our tip: Bet 6 on Under 2.5 goals
Odds 1.7 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers