With England getting five UEFA Champions League qualification slots, instead of the usual, traditional four, Saturday’s fixture between Chelsea and Everton takes on additional meaning.
The Blues, like Aston Villa, are on the outside looking in when it comes to the top five right now.
Chelsea FC vs Everton FYIs
Kickoff Time: 2pm. BST, Sunday, April 12
Location, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Chelsea FC Preview Material: Starting Lineup Prediction Team News
Google Result Probability: Chelsea FC 61% Draw 23% Everton 16%
Premier League Standings Chelsea FC 6th 57 pts Everton 13th 38 pts
Of course, Chelsea will likely have European football of some sort, one way or another, next season. It’s doubtful they will finish outside the top seven, plus winning the Conference League this season (which looks like a very strong possibility) automatically gets them into Europa League for next season.
Then there are all sorts of other rules and regs, qualifiers and stipulations, but we just don’t have time for that stuff right now.
Chelsea Starting Lineup Prediction vs Everton FC
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto; Nicolas Jackson
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. 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter