Posted by Lamin Oo

Club football finally returns this Saturday after another lethargic international break. And what a treat we have this weekend with Everton visiting Stamford Bridge for a mouth-watering game of football. Everton come into this game on the back of two league defeats, while Chelsea has enjoyed solid victories in recent league fixtures.

History tells us that this is going to be a tight game. Chelsea will most likely take the initiative in attacking department: long-range efforts and fast paced counter attacks maybe the sources of goals for the home team. Everton's goal threat from set-pieces, high crosses and long balls may well be the thorns that prick Andre Villas-Boas's hand as he reach for the rose of victory. Here is my scout report.

Current Form...


Everton come to Stamford Bridge at the back to two 2-0 defeats: one is away to Manchester City and another is at home to Liverpool. Looking at the last five league games though, Everton's form has been predictable: they have beaten teams they should beat (e.g. Blackburn and Wigan), drawn against team they should draw against (e.g. Aston Villa), and lost to team they should lose to (e.g Manchester City). The result, and the performance, in the Merseyside derby is an outlier (aka an exception, not a norm).

So far, the Toffees have not been terrible, but they have not been impressive either. Their defense has been their weakness. In the league they have only kept one clean sheet; even that was in the game against a Blackburn side which failed to score from two penalties. The only defensive record Eventon fans can be proud of this season is that they have not conceded from set-pieces (not even from the three penalties they have given away) in the league. At Stamford Bridge, Everton manager David Moyes will want a solid performance from his defense.

Last Time Out...


With the return of Louis Saha from injury into the starting lineup*, Everton set out an attacking 4-4-2 lineup, with Tim Cahill roaming behind the French striker, against Liverpool at Goodinson Park. Fullbacks Baines and Hibbert pushed up to support the wide midfielders Osman and Coleman. Rodwell held down the midfield while Fellaini connected Everton's attack and defense.

* Apparently, Saha has been "fit" but out of favor.




How They Concede...

As I mentioned above, the Toffees have had their share of defensive problems this season. So, it will probably take a whole new blog post to really analyze the way they have conceded all their goals. However, if Everton were to approach the Chelsea game in the way they did the Manchester City game (which is quite plausible, since both away games against superior opponents), then it might be wise to look particularly at the way Everton conceded goals against the Citizens.


City's first goal came from a long-range effort by Mario Balotelli from the edge of the D. But even before the Italian opened the scoring, there were warning signs for Everton.

Against City, Everton defended deep using two banks of players to protect Tim Howard's goal. In the picture above, we see eight Everton players (blue squares) dropping back to defend five City players. Although Everton did well to defend by numbers, especially in their penalty box, they did allow City's attackers time and space to shoot from distance. In this case, Nasri (light blue square) took his chance from that position. Only Howard's save kept the scoreline at 0-0.





Goal Threat...

Although Everton's goal-scoring record this season has not been stellar, their strength in set-pieces, high crosses and long balls can really exploit Chelsea's weakness in these exact areas – if I remember correctly, aside from goals scored by Shane Long, Wayne Rooney and Nani, all other goals that Chelsea have conceded in the league so far came from opposition's set-pieces or high crosses or long balls. Anyway, we can see Everton's goal threat by looking at the three goals they scored against Wigan a few weeks ago.


The Toffees scored their first goal from a corner. Leon Osman took Everton's corner from the left. Tim Cahill (red square), in the back post, jumped the highest to meet this cross. Notice another red square in the 6-yard box. That is Phil Jagielka. And he is highlighted here because...


Cahill's initial header rattled the crossbar and the ball flew straight into the path of Jagielka (red square) who was waiting for the second ball in the 6-yard box. This is particularly alarming for Chelsea because we have not been able to deal with set-piece crosses that were aimed at the back post (this and this are my two quick references). Let's look at the next goal.


Right back Tony Hibbert was the creator of Everton's second goal against Wigan. The fullback bombed forward on Everton's right and swung in a dangerous high cross into Wigan's box. Substitute Apostolos Vellios made a quick dash between the two stagnant Wigan defenders and headed the ball home. Pretty straight forward stuff. Next!


The third is the kind of goal Sam Allardyce would have loved for any of his teams to score. Tim Howard punted a long ball forward. A player in an advance position nodded the ball down into the path of Royston Drenthe (red square) who was making a clever diagonal run.


Drenthe, then, dribbled the ball straight towards the Wigan goal and poked it past the keeper to put the cheery on top of Everton's win.

What Needs to Be Done...

So, in order to bag all three points against Everton, Chelsea will need to be clinical with their finishing. Although Everton defend with numbers in the back, they do allow shots to be taken from outside the box. If Chelsea players can keep those shots on target, there will be plenty of goal-scoring opportunities in this game. Also, fast paced counter attacks are the only way to catch Everton's defense in lesser numbers than eight. Speed and precision will be key to executing such counter attacks. Finally, be wary of Everton's goal threats from set-pieces, high crosses and long balls. They are direct, brutal and effective. I can see both teams scoring in this game and it will be the case of having to score at least one more than the opposition.

Carefree, wherever you may be...

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