Chelsea will be keen to continue their rampant form in the league and have further options to choose from with the return of John Terry, Cesc Fabregas and Kurt Zouma. However, boss Antonio Conte confirmed that only Terry is in line for selection.
Chelsea have racked up four wins on the bounce in the Premier League in a flawless performance in October that saw them score 11 past their opponents while keeping a clean sheet in all those encounters. The marked improvement in Chelsea’s fortunes is down to Antonio Conte’s change in tactics to a 3-4-3 formation.
Ever since he has deployed a three-man defence, usual suspects like David Luiz and Gary Cahill have put up largely error-free performances along with Cezar Azpilicueta. So despite John Terry’s availability, there is little chance the captain gets a look-in to the starting XI ahead of the existing trio for the Everton game. Moreover, the 35-year-old did his chances no good with a poor showing against West Ham in the EFL Cup that saw his side ousted following a 2-1 defeat at the London Stadium.
Conte, however, was satisfied with the captain’s recovery stating that, “John Terry is available and is in good form after his injury. He has trained with us for two weeks – I don’t see any problem.”
Cesc Fabregas and Kurt Zouma made a long-awaited return to first-team training last week but Conte has ruled out any chances of the duo participating against Everton. Zouma, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury last season, has featured for the U-23 side upon his return. The boss confirmed that the duo can be expected to feature in the first-team fold after the international break.
The Blues can go top of the table with a win against Everton on Saturday and given their record against the Toffees at Stamford Bridge, one would expect nothing else. But that said, stranger things have happened in the Premier League.
