Prediction & odds for the game: Chelsea (1/2) v Everton (11/2) – ST is backing the home win

When: Monday, 8th March @ 6pm K.O

Where: Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Everton will meet on Monday Night Football as the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four continues to heat up.

Chelsea

We aren’t suggesting Chelsea are the finished article under Tuchel but you can bet they’re a whole lot further along than they were just a few weeks ago. From their range of passing to their discipline, there are a whole lot of things to like about what they’re producing as of late. The only thing they need to do now is learn how to really put teams away because if they can do that, they’re on their way towards becoming title contenders again.

Wins over Barnsley and Newcastle helped to get Chelsea back on the winning trail, only for a draw to Southampton to bring them back down to earth. They did go on to beat Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, though, in addition to a draw with Manchester United, conceding no goals in that three-game stretch.

Everton

The Carlo Ancelotti effect has helped to completely turn Everton around as a club, and between his management style and the new stadium, they’re starting to feel like a team that could become major contenders in English football. They perhaps aren’t ready to take the mantle away from their city rivals Liverpool, but they’re a hell of a lot closer than they were just a matter of months ago.

After a nine-goal thriller ended in victory over Tottenham in the FA Cup, Everton were humbled in defeats to Fulham and Manchester City. From there, however, they dug deep and won three games on the bounce against Liverpool, Southampton and West Brom.

Conclusion

This is going to be a defensive battle of the highest order with both teams being incredibly organised at the back. They have impact players who can make things happen in the final third but it’s all about picking your moments, especially with two teams as evenly matched as Chelsea and Everton. However, we do think there’s going to be a winner, and we’re backing the Blues to edge this out and continue their forward momentum under Thomas Tuchel.

Our official scoreline prediction is going to be 2-0 Chelsea, meaning we stick to the under 2.5 goals bracket. We do think this is going to be quite tame in comparison to some of their previous encounters, but fans need to realise both are operating at a far higher level than they’ve been at in quite some time. Therefore, expecting the unexpected is a bit of a stretch.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 1/2 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 4/5 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on Chelsea vs Everton then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures on the soccer predictions page as this season’s Premier League anarchy continues.