Three things to look for in Chelsea vs Everton: Rafa’s return

3. Dominance or despair?

It has not been particularly fun being a Chelsea fan over the last few weeks. ‘Charity FC’ has made a few appearances en route to some frustrating results. While you realistically cannot expect the Blues to win every match they play, the dropped points and mistakes are annoying simply because these men have set such high standards for themselves. There are a lot of expectations—fair or not—put on this football club because of what it accomplished both last season and out of the gates this year. It’s getting to a point where the Blues’ current campaign is a tale of two parts (dominance and despair); this will be especially true if the points are either shared or stolen on Thursday at Stamford Bridge.

The most annoying part of this recent run is the fact Chelsea supporters, and maybe even the coaches, do not know which side they will see step onto the pitch. After all, we are discussing a side that drew against relegation-battling Burnley and a depleted Manchester United on either side of massive victories over Leicester City (3-0) and Juventus (4-0). For this reason, the match against Everton at home on Thursday feels like a decisive moment in the Blues’ season. They have two options: they can either dominate their struggling visitors and stay in the title race or fall further behind the pack and continue this mediocre run.

It’s not an exaggeration at this point to claim that the Toffees are one of the worst teams in the Premier League. Spin it however you’d like, we’re nearing the halfway point, so there are no real flukes in the league standings any longer. The Blues, who are top three in both goals scored and goals allowed, are one of the most complete teams in the first division. They need to make a statement on the pitch—similar to the one Manchester City made against Leeds on Tuesday—in order to prove their legitimacy. It’d be silly to declare that Chelsea’s title hopes would be dead with anything less than three points given the fact it’s mid-December. However, it certainly feels as if that’s the case with this contest.

What are three things you’ll be looking for in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!