Chelsea Starting XI vs Everton: Confirmed Team News and Predicted Lineup | OneFootball

Chelsea vs Everton: Team News, Injury Updates and Predicted Lineup for Crucial Premier League Clash

As the Premier League season edges towards its decisive phase, Chelsea welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge in a fixture that carries significance for both clubs. Enzo Maresca, gearing up for his Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden, faces a balancing act between maintaining momentum and managing his squad carefully.

Tyrique George Poised for Breakthrough

With Chelsea’s frontline struggling to find the net, academy product Tyrique George is increasingly being tipped for his first Premier League start. George has been a bright spark in recent weeks, scoring his maiden senior goal against Legia Warsaw and following it up with a critical equaliser in last weekend’s dramatic turnaround at Fulham.

The clamour for George’s inclusion grows louder as both Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson endure lengthy goal droughts. Palmer, notably, has not scored since the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth back in January.

However, Maresca struck a note of caution when discussing George’s rapid rise:

“We are excited with him, but now is the moment that you need to manage [young players] because too easy they can be excited and too easy they can be down,” said the Chelsea boss.

Photo: IMAGO

“Him and Josh Acheampong, both are from the academy. Both at the beginning of the season, they were looking for some different solution. But they started the pre-season with us and we saw that they could be a good one for us. So we decided to keep them and now both, I think, they are doing very well.”

Injury Concerns Continue to Plague Maresca

Chelsea’s injury list remains lengthy. Malo Gusto is ruled out, opening the door for Reece James to start a third consecutive match. James, whose season has been fragmented by fitness problems, could yet play a pivotal role during this congested period.

There is a glimmer of good news with Christopher Nkunku set to return to the matchday squad after being left out against Fulham for “technical reasons”. Yet, long-term absentees persist: Wesley Fofana will miss the rest of the season, Marc Guiu is not quite ready to return, and Mykhailo Mudryk is still sidelined.

Squad depth remains a headache for Maresca, with the club’s summer transfer activity leaving gaps that are proving difficult to paper over.

Photo: IMAGO

Predicted Chelsea Lineup

Maresca is expected to stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, albeit with a few tweaks.Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Given Palmer’s struggles in front of goal and George’s recent impact, Maresca may yet spring a surprise and start the youngster. Nevertheless, the need for stability ahead of a critical European semi-final may persuade the Italian to keep faith with his more experienced heads.

What’s at Stake for Chelsea and Everton?

While Chelsea focus on climbing the Premier League table and maintaining momentum for their European ambitions, Everton, under David Moyes, are desperate for points at the other end of the table. Survival is not yet guaranteed for the Toffees, and any slip-up could pull them deeper into the relegation scrap.

The match kicks off at 12:30pm BST on Saturday, 26 April 2025, at Stamford Bridge, with live coverage available on TNT Sports. It promises to be a telling encounter for both sides as the season enters its most unforgiving stretch.