Chelsea: Three things to look for as the Blues travel to Everton

2. Frank Lampard vs. Carlo Ancelotti: Part II

While neutral fans are always interested in the Lampard vs. Arteta or Lampard vs. Ole contests, it’s Lampard’s scraps with his former managers that peak the interest of passionate Chelsea supporters. This isn’t only because the juicy storylines that come along with them though. Lampard’s managerial style is a healthy blend of things he learned under both Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho. Therefore, the master vs. apprentice matchups always make for the best tactical tug of war’s.

We’ve been treated to numerous installments of Lampard vs. Mourinho over the years and while the ‘aggressive attack against disciplined defense’ events are always quality football, the somewhat similar styles of Everton and Chelsea will make for an hour and a half of pure entertainment. Further, there aren’t any certainties as these two individuals on opposite ends of the managerial spectrum meet for just the second time.

We do have a hunch of the type of game we’ll see though after Lampard got the better of his former boss in their first meeting nine months ago, 4-0. In that match, the two teams combined for 20 shots, 12 shots on target and over 1,000 passes. A majority of those stats belonged to the Blues, things may not look the same the second time around though. Chelsea was a lavish spender in the summer window, and Everton’s time off wasn’t so bad either. In form players like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Olivier Giroud and Kurt Zouma will steal headlines, but it’s the two midfields that will control the contest.

Both managers rely heavily on possession and pressing. Chelsea’s got the best midfielder in the match in N’Golo Kante, but he will have his hands full with James Rodriguez. Ancelotti also added Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure during his retooling of the Toffees’ core. Lampard will counter those additions with Mason Mount and either Mateo Kovacic or Havertz.

This game will have pace, physicality (surprisingly there were 18 combined fouls last time out) and goals galore, but will the apprentice double his advantage on the master? Form is certainly swinging in favor of Super Frank.