‘A hard place to visit’ – Paul Merson gives his scoreline for Everton vs Chelsea clash
On Saturday night at Goodison Park, Chelsea will play its opening Premier League game against Everton.
When the Toffees battled to stay in the Premier League last season, Frank Lampard’s team overcame Chelsea 1-0 at Goodison Park in May.
Paul Merson predicts Chelsea to win the match 2-1 this Sunday, but the analyst thinks it will be a tough game for Chelsea.
“Both these Premier League teams struggled in pre-season,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“Everton’s a hard place to visit, but they’ve been really poor over the past month.
“Chelsea should play Kai Havertz through the centre – he brings it together for them. I don’t think he’s going to score more than 20 goals for them.
“Chelsea will have to rely massively on Mason Mount and their midfield to score, and they’re not renowned for that. Raheem Sterling has scored goals for Manchester City, but playing for Chelsea is a different kettle of fish.
“I don’t know where the goals are coming from at Chelsea, and that’s my problem with them.
“With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen gone, they are weaker than they were last season. Koulibaly has experience behind him, but he’s played in Italy – their football is not as quick and electric as Premier League football.
“Everton will make it hard for them, and Tuchel will need to grind out a result here.
“Chelsea haven’t been great in pre-season, but I think they have a little too much for Everton this weekend.”