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James Reeve’s Starting XI Prediction vs Chelsea

By James Reeve

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Everton return to action against reigning Premier League champions Chelsea, who visit Goodison Park on Saturday.

Both teams have had uneven starts to the season and will be hoping to take as many points from their opponent as possible.

Our very own Steve Nicholls published his starting XI predictions, but now it’s time for me to give my own view on the team Everton will play this weekend.

Goalkeeper: TIM HOWARD
Howard has performed as best as he can to start the season, putting in a number of saves that have kept Everton in matches that other goalkeepers may not have made.

Fans are still pining for Joel Robles to replace the American, but it is obvious that Roberto Martinez will keep Howard as the starter against Chelsea.

Right Back: SEAMUS COLEMAN
Coleman should be back to full fitness and raring to go against Chelsea. He will hold down his starting position as long as he is fit this season, with clubs such as PSG interested in his services.

Centre Back: PHIL JAGIELKA
Jagielka is the club captain and will not be replaced any time soon. He has formed a strong partnership with young star John Stones and will continue to hold down his place against Chelsea, having performed well on international duty with England.

Centre Back: JOHN STONES
Stones is arguably Everton’s best young star, besides Ross Barkley, and will maintain his regular partnership with club captain Phil Jagielka against champions Chelsea.

This will be an important match for Stones, given Chelsea’s interest in signing him during the summer. He will need to keep focused for this match if he hopes to help lead Everton to a victory over the Londoners.

Left Back: RAMIRO FUNES MORI
Bryan Oviedo is still fighting for fitness and Mori recently played exceptionally well on international duty for his native Argentina.

The Argentine defender is most comfortable as a centre back but is also capable of playing out on the left and could be the ideal fill-in while Oviedo returns to fitness.

Centre Midfielder: JAMES McCARTHY
McCarthy has had a solid start to the season and performed equally well whilst on duty for the Republic of Ireland, helping them edge closer to a play-off qualification place in the difficult Group D.

He will maintain his position against Chelsea, partnering with Gareth Barry once again.

Centre Midfielder: GARETH BARRY
Barry is getting older, but he still has the passion and drive to push on through every match. He has formed a nice partnership with James McCarthy and will keep his usual place in Everton’s starting line-up against Chelsea.

Right Winger: AARON LENNON
Tom Cleverley would likely be in this spot if he was fit, but unfortunately for Everton they will be without the Englishman for around two months after suffering ligament damage against Tottenham.

So it will be up to Lennon, who joined Everton permanently on transfer deadline day, to step in and give fans the kind of performances they experienced during his loan spell last season.

Attacking Midfielder: ROSS BARKLEY
Barkley scored his first-ever goal for England against San Marino, giving him a boost in confidence that can only help Everton.

Barkley has a lot to prove after an uneven season last year, though he has started this season’s campaign off in great fashion. He will look to provide the attacking spark that Everton will desperately need against a strong Chelsea team.

Left Wing: AROUNA KONE
As a striker, Kone failed to appear regularly for Everton last season. As a left winger, he appears to have found his true calling and will likely remain in the starting line-up after starting the season in surprising fashion.

Striker: ROMELU LUKAKU
This one is a no-brainer as Lukaku is undoubtedly Everton’s best striker and the only real option the team has up front outside of Steven Naismith and recently signed Leandro Rodriguez.

Lukaku has 2 league goals this season and will look to increase his tally against Chelsea this weekend.

Unsurprisingly, manager Roberto Martinez will likely stick with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation and his team will be largely unchanged besides the two areas that require replacements for injured players.

What team do you think Martinez will put out? Who would you like to see start for the Toffees this weekend against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea?

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