Premier League football: Everton v Chelsea preview

Everton will be praying there is no repeat of last weekend’s collapse against Arsenal, conceding twice in the final seven minutes, but a draw against second-placed Chelsea on Saturday would be no mean feat.

Roberto Martinez was delighted with his team’s performance for 80 minutes of last Saturday’s match, but criticised his players for “wanting the game to end”.

Mourinho, on the other hand, will be hoping for more of the same from his star-studded squad, having breezed past newly promoted sides Burnley and Leicester in their opening games.

Any doubts surrounding the cohesion of Chelsea’s big-money-signings has vanished after two comprehensive victories. However, the strike force did take a blow in mid-week when target man Diego Costa strained a hamstring in training.

Two former Chelsea strikers could potentially appear for Everton with Romelu Lukaku likely to start and Samuel Eto’o a possibility on the sidelines, having switched to the Blue of Merseyside this week.

Chelsea have won four of their previous six meetings with Everton but, since Martinez took charge in June of last year, the London club has struggled against the Toffees.

They have only managed one goal in two matches, and their last trip to Goodison Park ended in defeat when a newly appointed Martinez conjured a memorable 1-0 win just two months into the job.