Everton v Chelsea: Hosts can earn battling draw

Everton hoping to retain late-season momentum

There were times last season when the unthinkable looked like a genuine possibility for Everton: that dreaded word 'relegation'.

But, helped considerably by the passion and energy of their fans, the Toffees fought their way out of trouble, eventually finishing 16th and four points clear of the third-bottom Burnley.

Home form was a huge key and Frank Lampard's men reeled off four wins and a draw in their final six Premier League games at Goodison.

Of course, many fans of the club will wonder how they got into that position in the first place but the collective effort from manager through to supporters that kept them afloat shouldn't be dismissed easily.

In terms of summer transfers, the main loss was Brazilian attacker Richarlison, a key man in their escape.

But James Tarkowski looks an astute acquisition to boost Everton's wobbling rearguard and Lampard will surely enjoy trying to unlock more of Dwight McNeil's obvious potential.

Chelsea hoping to push leaders harder

It's a little forgotten that for a while last season, the title race was being billed as a three-team shootout.

But hamstrung by a series of home draws, Chelsea fell away badly, ending the campaign 18 points behind runners-up Liverpool and only just doing enough to stay in front of fourth-place Spurs.

For some added context, their tally of nine home wins was the same as Everton's.

Their better times came on the road and 12 away wins and four draws meant they accrued just three fewer points on their travels than Liverpool.

However, one of those three defeats came at Goodison Park and it's probably fair to call it a bogey ground for Chelsea as they've now lost their last four games there.

As for the summer window, Raheem Sterling will surely be a better fit than Romelu Lukaku, who has returned to Inter on loan. And talking of loans, Chelsea have also recalled the impressive Conor Gallagher from Crystal Palace.

At the back, the loss of Antonio Rudiger has been compensated for by the purchase of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who has the class and physique to slot straight in.

Everton have striking problems but look value for a point

Earlier in the week, I was veering towards an Everton win at the prices but the news that Dominic Calvert-Lewin is out again after an injury in training is clearly a blow.

Add that to Richarlison's departure and Everton's two most likely goal threats won't be there.

The prices show Everton at 6.05/1 to grab all three points while Chelsea are 1.664/6 and The Draw 4.216/5.

Instinctively, Chelsea look too short at that price for a season opener and four straight losses in the league at Goodison shows it's a ground they clearly don't enjoy going to.

I can't exactly pinpoint where the Everton goal(s) will come from but that draw price is enough to tempt me in.

Goodison will be rocking for this opener, the effect exaggerated a little by it being a 5.30pm kick-off, and the home players responded well in such an atmosphere at the close of last season.

And how about this for a stat: Everton are unbeaten in their opening Premier League match in the last 10 seasons.

Six of those have been draws and that's the bet.

Head-to-head history supports under 2.5 goals

Looking at the goal markets Under 2.5 is a slight favourite at 1.9110/11. Over 2.5 is 2.0621/20.

It's virtually the same for Both teams to Score, with No at 1.9210/11 and Yes the outsider at 2.0421/20.

If Everton are to get a draw, I'd be surprised if it was 2-2 or higher in which case Under 2.5 has most appeal.

Looking at those four previous Everton home wins over Chelsea, the scorelines reading back from last season were: 1-0, 1-0, 3-1 and 2-0.

Both games were Unders last season after the Toffees grabbed a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Sterling could make Bet Builder appeal

Raheem Sterling once scored a hat-trick on opening day, West Ham the victims in a 5-0 Man City rout at the London Stadium.

The Chelsea debutant is 11/5 for an anytime goal while on the Bet Builder it's 3332/1 for Sterling to score in a 1-1 draw. Seems big!

For Everton, the very reasonable idea of Anthony Gordon netting in a 1-1 draw is approximately 3736/1.

Opta stat

Everton beat Chelsea 1-0 in May, meaning Frank Lampard could become the first manager to win consecutive Premier League games against the Blues having previously managed them in the competition. The only former Blues boss to win consecutive home Premier League games against them is José Mourinho, doing so in April 2017 and February 2018 with Manchester United.