A three-game suspension was handed to Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo after he drew a straight red card in the London derby loss to Arsenal. Caicedo missed the next match, a loss to Leeds United and then the draw with AFC Bournemouth. It is obvious that Chelsea is simply not the same without him. While he did come back for the Champions League clash last night, the Blues lost anyway, 2-1 to Atalanta.
Caicedo was eligible to play in that continental clash, due to the fact that his ban only extended to domestic affairs, not UEFA competition.
Chelsea FC vs Everton FYIs
Kickoff Time: 3pm BST, Saturday, December 13
Location: Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Google’s Result Probability: Chelsea FC 58% Draw 24% Everton 19%
Premier League Standings Chelsea FC 5th 25 pts Everton 7th 24 pts
Team News for Both Sides
The Ecuadorian will serve the final portion of his three match ban on Saturday versus Everton. Elsewhere Liam Delap could be sidelined for up to two months, with a dislocated shoulder. However, it could have been worse, much worse.
Enzo Maresca provided an update on Delap yesterday: “Liam, fortunately, there is no fracture, which is good news. In terms of how long he will be out, we are not sure at this stage, to be honest.”
Otherwise the song remains the same with the Chelsea team news situation. Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo remain out while Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended.
Shifting gears to Everton, Thierno Barry picked up a shoulder injury versus Nottingham Forest, and he is all but ruled out of this one.
Said manager David Moyes, over the weekend, in regards to the situation: “When he went down, he did it. He’s had a bad shoulder, but he has been well looked after by the medical team. I took him off more for the booking… but his shoulder isn’t in great shape.”
There is some good news though- Idrissa Gueye is eligible to return here after having served a three-match ban for his sending off against Manchester United. Timothy Iroegbunam is also eligible again here, having served his ban for five yellow cards accumulation.
Otherwise there are no changes to the Toffees team news situation, with Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman and Merlin Rohl remaining out.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.