Chelsea Cautious Of Everton Backlash

Nemanja Matic knows a repeat of Chelsea’s rout of Everton in August is unlikely when the two sides meet at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
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The Serb was among the goalscorers as the Barclays Premier League leaders beat Roberto Martinez’s side 6-3 in an exhilarating encounter at Goodison Park.
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Chelsea have gone from strength to strength since that victory and head into the midweek encounter with a seven-point lead at the top of the table after they won 2-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday and Manchester City drew 1-1 with Hull City.
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Everton are down in 12th after a goalless Merseyside derby draw with Liverpool and head to the capital looking for a first triumph at Chelsea since 1994. Matic is not expecting Everton to be so vulnerable defensively as at Goodison.
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“Now at home we have to win,” Matic told chelseafc.com. “We know that it is also going to difficult but if we want to be champions we have to win. Everton is not the kind of team to concede six.
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“They did against us but not again so we just want to win, it doesn’t matter if it is with six goals or 1-0, we just need three points.”
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Jose Mourinho claimed that his team’s seven-point advantage is “nothing” and Matic echoed his manager’s sentiments.
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“We have many games to the end and only a seven points lead, because Manchester City are a very good team, they will fight to the end and we will see at the end,” he said. “We are in a good way at the moment and we will try to keep like this but it is a long way to go.”
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Diego Costa scored twice in Chelsea’s win at Goodison Park, but the Spain striker will be missing, serving the last tie of a three-match ban. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas is set to return after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury, but it remains to be seen if Filipe Luis (calf) is available to return.
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Romelu Lukaku will be eager to make an impact in his first appearance at Stamford Bridge since his move to Everton from Chelsea was made permanent last July. Martinez will be hoping Leighton Baines (knee) can return after missing the derby, but Aiden McGeady will miss out with a knee problem sustained in training.
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The game may also come too soon for Steven Pienaar (knee), while Leon Osman (foot) and Tim Howard (calf) are still sidelined.