Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored in his last two games but Everton have been short of goals (Picture: Getty Images)
Everton will be fine when the dust has settled on a Premier League season which has been another nightmare for the blue half of Merseyside.
But while they can scrape enough points from their remaining matches to survive the drop, the Toffees are unlikely to return home with anything from their trip to Stamford Bridge.
The deduction of eight points this season has given undoubtedly left Sean Dyche and his playing staff with a siege mentality but just one league win since the middle of December paints a truer picture of why they are only two points above the relegation zone.
Add the deductions to Everton’s tally and they would have 35 points which would put them in 14th place in the table and needing just a couple of draws from their remaining seven games for safety.
But that’s hardly a season for the ages and leaves them firmly entrenched among the also-rans in terms of relevance, let alone having any European ambitions.
They would still be in a worse position than chronic underachievers like – let’s think – ah, yes, Chelsea who they meet in a Monday Night Football showcase at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team may be wildly inconsistent but at least they can pull the odd victory out of the wreckage of their season every now and then.
Everton’s controversial win at home to Burnley last weekend took their tally from the last 45 points on offer to nine but they have kept things reasonably tight at the back, with only Manchester City, Wolves and West Ham sticking more than two goals past them in that run.
It also must be noted they have played City twice since the turn of the year and the defending champions needed some late strikes to win 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in February.
Cole Palmer is finishing his first season at Stamford Bridge in style (Picture: Getty Images)
The Toffees problem is that they have only scored more than a single goal just once in those 15 games and while Chelsea have conceded two or more in their last six outings, they have also scored at the double in every match in that span.
A 2-1 home win looks the way to go which is 15/2 with William Hill while a home win is 8/11 with Betway.
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