Premier League underachievers Everton commenced a new era under the Friedkin Group on Thursday as the club announced the long-awaited takeover.
Buoyed by the American conglomerate’s acquisition of 99.5% of the club, Sean Dyche’s charges entertain genuine title candidates Chelsea at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Everton’s sturdy defensive performance and Jordan Pickford’s goalkeeping masterclass held title-bidding Arsenal to a scoreless draw at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
It was the ultimate confidence booster for the Toffees ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Merseyside, lifting them three points clear of the bottom three right before the takeover.
However, Dyche’s future remains on the line, even though BBC journalist Giulia Bould recently played down talks over Dan Friedkin’s intention to sack the 53-year-old as one of his first acts as the new owner.
Avoiding defeat against high-flying Chelsea, who dismantled Shamrock Rovers 5-1 to make it six wins out of six in their maiden appearance in the Europa Conference League, would likely strengthen Dyche’s case.
Favourable history
Everton must punch above their weight to knock Chelsea off their perch, yet Goodison forms the perfect backdrop for Dyche’s hopes of impressing new bosses.
Despite all the doom and gloom, the Toffees have reigned supreme in this match-up, beating the West London powerhouse in five of their last six league meetings on home turf (L1).
Four of those five victories yielded a clean sheet, including a 2-0 win in this corresponding fixture last term.
Another stubborn defensive showing isn’t beyond Everton, considering they’ve registered more shutouts than any other side across Europe’s traditional big-five leagues since the start of October (six).
In-form opposition
While Dyche has leaned heavily on Everton’s defensive resilience to steer the team clear of relegation danger, Enzo Maresca has built Chelsea’s renaissance on a free-firing frontline.
Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson were on the scoresheet last Sunday as the Pensioners squeaked past Brentford 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to whittle down the gap on pacesetters Liverpool to only two points.
Though the Reds have a game in hand, Chelsea’s pursuit of their first Premier League title since 2016/17 is off and running, largely thanks to their intimidating scoring exploits.
Since the start of May, no team from the Premier League has scored more goals than the Blues’ 51 nor won more points (49) than Maresca’s free-flowing charges.
Despite masterminding the team’s return to prominence and handling the bloated squad well, recent Chelsea transfer news suggests Maresca plots several personnel changes in January.
Stalemate specialists
Victories have been a rare commodity at Goodison this season.
Everton have only won three of their 16 league matches, with only bottom-three strugglers picking up fewer pre-round.
Topically, the Toffees have entered the win column just once in their last seven outings, courtesy of a 4-0 humbling of relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers on this ground.
Four of those seven games ended level, taking Everton’s draw haul to the division’s second joint-most seven this term.
Given the circumstances, Dyche probably wouldn’t mind sharing the spoils with one of Europe’s most in-form sides.
However, the new hierarchy would appreciate a winning start.
Is it Dominic’s time?
As aforementioned, Everton’s backline has been rock-solid, especially at Goodison, where they’ve only conceded eight in seven league games.
Finding the net, on the other hand, has been a glaring issue.
They’ve bagged multiple goals per match only five times in 15 Premier League rounds.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s erratic form in front of goal has heavily contributed to Everton’s miserable average of 0.93 goals per game.
If there was ever a time for the 27-year-old to lace up his scoring boots, it’s now.
He has netted two career goals against Chelsea, and Sunday could be a landmark occasion for the Sheffield United academy graduate.
If Dyche includes him in his starting line-up, it will be his 200th start for Everton.
What better way to celebrate this milestone than getting on the scoreboard?