The Blues' UEFA midweeks have made this early start-time on Saturday a rarity, but we won the previous two 12.30pm kick-offs this season, at West Ham United and Leicester City, scoring five and conceding none.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is suspended from the dugout after receiving his third yellow card for celebrating Pedro Neto’s sensational late knockout blow in our 2-1 west London derby triumph at Fulham.

After losing last Saturday at home to late Manchester City goals, Everton remain 13th in the Premier League table, three rungs up from when David Moyes returned to Goodison Park in January.

Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Man City, Aston Villa and Arsenal are in the hunt for the four remaining Champions League places below champions-elect Liverpool. The only six-pointers between those rivals will be our away days at Newcastle in a fortnight’s time and Forest on the final day, plus Arsenal welcome the Magpies on May 18.

The Blues are targeting a 30th successive home match without defeat against Everton in the top flight since 1994. Victory in the first Premier League action of the weekend would take the Londoners back up to fourth with four games to go.

The history

This is David Moyes’ first visit to Stamford Bridge as Toffees boss since four days after Chelsea’s Europa League victory over Benfica in May 2013 – a 2-1 win for the Blues in which Juan Mata netted early, Steven Naismith quickly replied, but Fernando Torres’ smart volley settled the score.

Three years later the Merseysiders were on the wrong end of a Premier League performance that veteran commentator John Motson ranked as the best he had ever seen. The mesmerising 5-0 display on 5 November 2016 – better than any fireworks – featured a stellar performance from two-goal Eden Hazard, with Marco Alonso, Diego Costa and Pedro also finding the net.

Everton were also the visitors on 16 December 2021, when Chelsea set our second-highest recorded dominance of possession in the Premier League era – 80.3 per cent – though Mason Mount’s goal was cancelled out by Jarrad Branthwaite to split the points.

A year ago this month, the Toffees were not wholly out of relegation danger, and a 6-0 demolition at the Bridge did not help. This time the star of the show was Cole Palmer, who scored the first three inside half-an-hour and added a fourth from the spot, between goals from Nicolas Jackson and late substitute Alfie Gilchrist.

Know this...

Chelsea have played 29 top-flight games at home to Everton without losing – a club record, eclipsing the previous best of 27 against Tottenham Hotspur between 1990 and 2016.

The Londoners have netted 302 times against the Toffees across all competitions, 21 more than our next highest, against Tottenham (281).

Moyes has never won at Stamford Bridge as a coach. In 24 visits across all competitions with Preston North End, Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland, West Ham and Everton since 2002, he has lost 17 games and drawn seven, most recently the Hammers’ 5-0 loss last season.

James Tarkowski has started 111 consecutive Premier League games for Everton, but should injury rule him out this weekend he will fall short of two Chelsea heroes. Frank Lampard managed 112 in succession and Wayne Bridge 113.

Pedro Neto’s goal at Fulham, timed at 92 minutes and 31 seconds, was Chelsea’s latest-ever winner in a Premier League derby since 2006/07, when accurate times were first recorded.