Jamie Carragher makes Chelsea prediction ahead of match v Everton

Jamie Carragher believes that Chelsea could “come a cropper” when they face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.

The Toffees will be looking to spring another surprise against Chelsea on 22 December following their goalless draw achieved against Arsenal as Everton look to make it three unbeaten.

Vitaliy Mykolenko played a crucial role against The Gunners and will be required to do the same against Chelsea in a game which Carragher has labelled as “really important” for Enzo Maresca’s side as they look to keep pace in the Premier League title race.

“I think next weekend’s game is really important [at Everton],” he said on Monday Night Football (16 December) as quoted by Liverpool Echo (17 December).

“You might say Chelsea are at the top of the league, Everton are at the bottom. But when I look at the things that worry me about Chelsea in terms of winning the league, in terms of a goalkeeper and maybe two centre-backs, Goodison Park is the type of place where something like that will show up.

“Now if they can go to Goodison you keep a clean sheet and you win, you think, ‘oh, okay’, that’s one of those results where you know they’re near the bottom but that’s a tough place to go. If your goalkeeper is not at it or your centre-backs are not at it – set-pieces, Everton, tight pitch you can come a cropper there.”

Improvement defensively could be key for Everton v Chelsea

Everton’s stalemate against Arsenal continued to showcase the frailties up front that have haunted them all season but signs of defensive improvement were there.

Of course, Jordan Pickford played a crucial role at The Emirates but the general team performance from a defensive perspective was much improved from what has been seen for the large parts of the campaign.

They will be required again against Maresca’s Blues who are quietly having a remarkable season in which they appear to be genuine title contenders.

A result for Everton would be massive not only in terms of points on the board but it would also show signs of a small revival after what has been a dull season so far although there is still plenty of work to be done.

January will play a crucial role in deciding how the remainder of the campaign pans out for the Merseysiders but for now, they must utilise what they have to the best of their ability.

In other Everton news, the Toffees could be set for an unexpected windfall.

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