Everton vs Chelsea: Premier League latest tips

Chelsea manager Avram Grant may be a dead man walking but his side's recent disappointments are nothing compared to that of Thursday night's opponents Everton, who can be fully expected to come undone at Goodison Park (live on Sky Sports 1, 8pm).

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Chelsea must have thought that the Premier League title was theirs for the taking on Sunday afternoon when Arsenal were 1-0 up on United and threatening to go two up at Old Trafford. But the defending champions' comeback and, more painfully for Blues fans, Wigan's last-gasp equaliser at Stamford Bridge on Monday has left Chelsea five points adrift of the leaders and in desperate need of a win to put any sort of pressure on Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

With Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard possibly missing Thursday's contest and Everton, who have a strong home record, also in need of three points to close the gap on fourth-placed Liverpool to two points, the pressure is piling on Grant to keep the title race alive. Little wonder Frank Rijkaard is in to 6/4 to replace the Israeli at Chelsea next term.

However, the visitors can safely expect to seal the three points as Everton are no longer at the height of their powers. They were having a fantastic season just over a month ago when they were in contention for a fourth-place Premier League finish, on a seven-match winning sequence and in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

But it all started to go wrong on March 12 when David Moyes's were knocked out of Europe by Fiorentina on penalties. That defeat seems to have completely knocked the stuffing out of Everton, who have since mustered just one win in five – and that a 1-0 home win over Derby. Disappointing 1-1 draws against mediocre West Ham and Birmingham tell a tale of a season spiralling out of control as do the losses to Liverpool and Fulham, all of which suggests that this is not a side capable of denting Chelsea's title tilt.

Admittedly, Everton are hard to beat on home soil; only the Big Four have done so in the Premier League campaign. However, Chelsea have already won at Goodison in the Carling Cup, were unlucky to draw against Wigan and have enough strength in depth to get the better of their misfiring opponents at  2.08 with Canbet.

Verdict: 2pts Chelsea @ 2.08; 1pt HT/FT Draw/Chelsea @ 3.0

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