Chelsea vs Everton LIVE: Premier League team news, line-ups and updates

Romeo Lavia is fit to feature against Everton today after making the bench for Chelsea’s match against Fulham last time out.

Enzo Maresca added: “Romeo is doing well – he was on the bench against Fulham.

“Also, he was on the bench in other games recently. He’s back, he’s training with us.

“With Romeo, we will try the same things that we are doing with Reece James. It is important that we use them carefully, going step by step and taking things slowly.

“Reece is doing well, he is playing two games every few days now and is holding up well across games in the Conference League and the Premier League. We will try to do the same with Romeo.”

Chelsea boss, Enzo Maresca, gave an update on the injuries within his squad .

“Malo [Gusto] is injured but it does not look like an important injury,” said the head coach.

“He is running and doing things outside, but he won’t be available for tomorrow’s game.

“Outside of that, Marc Guiu is still out, Aaron Anselmino is still out but the rest are still fit. Hopefully Marc can be back in one or two weeks.”

Cole Palmer is ‘a little bit worried’ about his downturn in form claims Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca but that is because the prolific attacker wants to help the team perform.

“For sure it’s a mental thing, it’s not tactical or technical,” said Maresca.

“Cole is still the player who scored 14 goals in 20 games. The style is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same. Nothing has changed around Cole. It’s just mentally in this moment.

“You can see he’s a little bit worried because he wants to help the team. You can see he’s struggling a bit on that. But he showed how happy he was after Fulham. It’s just a matter (whether) we can win games. For sure he’s going to score goals.

“If you go back game by game, he had at least every game one or two chances, so it’s not about how the team is playing.”

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca blamed a “mental thing” for Cole Palmer’s goal drought and insisted the England forward is happy at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer last scored on January 14 in a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth having previously netted 14 times this season in the Premier League, including four in the first half against Brighton in September.

Chelsea’s downturn in form is a worrying problem for Enzo Maresca who will be hoping to secure a solid victory over Everton this afternoon.

It will be tough against a team that David Moyes has instilled confidence and stability to but there should be enough quality in Chelsea’s line up to edge a narrow win.

For the visitors, Armando Broja will be ineligible to face his parent club, so Beto could start upfront in the continued absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

James Tarkowski is the only new injury concern after he picked up a hamstring issue in last week’s loss to Manchester City.

Elsewhere, Jesper Lindstrom and Orel Mangala are the long-term absentees.

Predicted Everton XI: Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Harrison, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto

Defender Malo Gusto looks like the only new injury issue for Maresca after the win over Fulham, with Wesley Fofana having been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Marc Guiu will hope to make a return this season but this match will come too soon.

Other than this trio, Maresca will likely have a full squad to select from, though it remains to be seen whether he will select the same starting 11 as he did in last week’s dramatic win.

Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 11am. Subscribers can also watch online via discovery+.

Chelsea vs Everton is due to kick off at 12.30pm BST on Saturday, 26 April at Stamford Bridge in London.

Chelsea face Everton in the weekend’s early kick-off in the Premier League today, with the Blues looking to grab what could be a vital three points in the race for Champions League qualification.

Enzo Maresca’s side are in sixth as the weekend begins, and they sit two points behind Newcastle, who are in the final qualification spot with just five games left of the season.

And three points could be pivotal this weekend with five sides aiming for the last three places in the top five, with Chelsea’s task perhaps even more difficult looking at their remaining fixtures.

The Blues will face Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest as they look to secure a place in Europe’s premier cup competition, though their first test comes against David Moyes’ plucky Everton side, who have steered themselves clear of relegation and will aim to spoil the party at Stamford Bridget’s afternoon.