... we’ve played Chelsea once before on Match 17th - a 4-0 home victory in 1962

- that was a top flight season which saw us finish 4th, 5 points behind champions Ipswich
- the Pensioners were relegated in 22nd, and last, place!
- how times have changed!!

- our last March 17th outing came last year and saw us win 2-1 at Stoke City with a brace from Cenk Tosun
- our Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma was in the Potters side that day

- our most recent March 17th home game was a 1-1 draw with Sunderland
- that was in an FA Cup Quarter-Final tie in 2012
- we won the replay 2-0 10 days later at their place
- before eventually losing to Liverpool in the Semi-Final in mid-April

- overall, we’ve played 8 home games in the past on March 17th and our record is W6 D1 L1
- the one defeat came in our first home outing on this date - a 4-3 loss to Oldham in 1915

- we don’t have a very good recent record against Chelsea!

- the last 2 encounters (both in the League) have ended goalless
- they were at home in December 2017 and at Stamford Bridge in November 2018

- indeed, we have failed to score against Chelsea now in 5 successive League matches, home and away
- and we have conceded 10 goals in the process!

- the last Everton player to find the net against them in the League was Ramiro Funes Mori
- that came in the 90th minute of our 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge in January 2016
- unfortunately for us, John Terry equalised in the 98th minute!

- just in the League we are winless in our last 6 meetings with Chelsea - W0 D3 L3
- our last Prem victory came at Goodison 3-1 in September 2015
- it was helped by a hat-trick from substitute Steven Naismith!

- we did, of course, also beat them 2-0 at Goodison in the FA Cup Quarter-Final in March 2016
- ex-Pensioner Romelu Lukaku did the damage that day with both goals!

- just at Goodison, things aren’t quite so bad
- in their last 10 League visits our record is W5 D2 L3 and in the last 13 in all competitions it is W6 D3 L4

- Chelsea’s last win at Goodison was a 3-0 victory in April 2017

- if Seamus Coleman starts the match against Chelsea it will be his 257th start for us in all competitions
- that would be one more than Tim Cahill managed for the club!
- he'd be in 54th place alone on our all-time Starts list

- it would also be his 221st start for us in the Premier League, 1 more than Dave Watson reached!
- Seamus would move to 9th place on his own on our our all-time Prem Starts chart

- if Tom Davies starts the match it will be his 50th start for us in the Prem
- he’d be the 75th player to reach that milestone for the club!

- Phil Jagielka will be 36 years and 212 days old on the day of the game
- if he plays he will become the 19th oldest player in our history!

- Gylfi Sigurdsson, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been in the goals lately for us
- can they continue scoring?!

- if Gylfi manages another goal against Chelsea he’ll move on to 12 in the Prem for us this campaign
- and 16 in his Everton Premier League career
- that would put him level with Nikica Jelavic and Gary Speed in 27th place on our all-time Prem scoring list

- if either DCL or Richie score they’ll move to 12 Premier League goals for us in total
- that's the same as Lee Carsley!
- they'd be in joint 35th place on that chart!

- 3 goals against Chelsea this time (!) would bring up 800 for us at home in our Premier League history
- that would be in our 516th home Prem game

- 1 goal meanwhile would be our 50th under Marco Silva in all competitions
- whereas 2 goals conceded would also take us to 50 against with Marco as our manager!

- will we fail to score against Chelsea?
- if we do, it will be 3 successive home games for us without a goal in all competitions
- that would equal the a club record!
- it’s happened 15 times before in our history - most recently in August/September 2005!

- counting just League games it’s only happened 12 times before
- the last time was also that August/September 2005 sequence

- our record in the League is 5 successive home games without a goal
- that happened in August-October 1998!

- at the other end of the pitch, - can Jordan Pickford keep a clean sheet?
- if he does it will be his 19th for the club in the League
- that would be the same as 1960s/70s ‘keeper Andy Rankin managed
- they’d be level in 17th place on that particular Everton chart!

- if we do keep a clean sheet it will be our 2nd in succession at home in all competitions
- that's something we haven’t yet managed so far this season!
- the last time we did was in April 2018

- oh, and a defeat by Chelsea would be our 6th home League defeat of the season
- that would be our most since 8 in 2015/16

- Anthony Taylor will referee the match - and he may have his hands full!

- there have been more penalties in our matches with Chelsea (49) than in any of our other fixtures!

- however, there hasn’t been one in a League meeting between the clubs since December 2010
- Didier Drogba scored that one at Stamford Bridge in our 1-1 draw there

- we've actually failed with our last 2 spot-kicks against Chelsea!
- in October 2011 Leighton Baines saw his effort saved by Petr Cech in a League Cup tie
- we lost 2-1 after extra-time at Goodison
- that was in a game that also saw Nicolas Anelka put a penalty wide for Chelsea!

- in February 2010 Cech also saved a Louis Saha spot-kick in a Premier League encounter at Goodison
- Louis did manage both goals, however, in our eventual 2-1 win!

- if Jordan Pickford saves a penalty in this game it will be the 4th time he’s done so, so far this season
- no Everton goalkeeper has ever saved that many penalties before in 1 season!

- there have also been a lot of sendings-off in all Everton/Chelsea fixtures - 26 in total
- that's more than in any of our games with other opponents except against Liverpool (27)!
- the 14 Chelsea dismissals is the most by any of our opponents!

- the match will be just our 3rd Premier League game to kick-off at 4.30pm!
- our first was in November 2016, at Southampton and we lost 1-0

- the most recent was our 3-2 victory against Watford at Goodison in November 2017

- it was a dramatic occasion!
- we were 2-0 down with 23 minutes to go before Oumar Niasse and Dominic Calvert-Lewin brought us level
- Leighton Baines then scored our 91st minute winner from the penalty spot
- and there was still time for ex-Blue, Tom Cleverley, to miss a chance to equalise
- he put a 101st minute Watford spot-kick wide!

- COYB!!

- a reminder of some newer sections on the site!

- which Everton substitute has scored the most goals for us?
- which opposition sub has scored the most against us?
- the new 'Goals by Substitutes' section will let you know!

- Test cricketers have a small number on their shirt or cap
- it shows where they fit in in terms of the historical chronology of their country
- now you can see what number every Everton player would wear!
- have a look at the 'Everton Players Numbered Chronologically' section!

- who's managed the most times against Everton?
- who's managed the most clubs against us?!
- well, there's a new 'Opposition Managers' section that will tell you everything you need to know!

- the 'Goals in Most Consecutive Matches' section has been updated!
- it now includes details of which Everton players have scored in the most successive home & away games too!

- who was the last Everton man to play 50 or more games in a season?
- who has played the most games in one season?!
- the new '50 or More Appearances in a Season' section will tell you!

- on the flip side, which players only ever managed 1 game for the club?!
- find out in the new Just One Appearance section!

- we used 39 different players last season in all competitions and 15 of them scored a goal
- is that a lot?! how does it compare to other seasons?
- find out in the new 'Number of Players Used and Goal Scorers - Season-by-Season' section!

- who was the last Everton player to feature in every game in a season?!
- have a look at the new Ever Presents section to find out!

- and how often have we completed League 'doubles' over our opponents in the past?
- alternatively, how often have we been on the receiving end of a double?!
- you can now find out in the new League Doubles For and Against section

- ever wondered which Everton player has been substituted the most times?!
- well, now you can find out - have a look at the new Subbed Off section for full, fascinating details!

- Ademola Lookman was the last Everton player to score on his debut
- who else has managed that feat for the club?!
- have a look at the new Scored on Their Debut section to find out!

- Wayne Rooney has now departed, of course, but who else has had 2 separate spells at the club?!
- the new Two or More Spells at Everton section will tell you!

- Jordan Pickford looks like he'll be our keeper for some years to come
- but who else has appeared for us between the sticks in the past?!
- the new Goalkeepers section has all the details!

- and don't forget there's also a new History In Short section too!
- you can see at a glance how many times we've finished in each position in the League
- and where exactly we've been knocked out of the various cup competitions
- have a peek!