Chelsea v Everton: ageing Barry could be Everton’s weakness

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Chelsea come into this game off the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Southampton, while Everton got their season back on track with the same result against West Ham.

This leaves Everton just 4 points behind Chelsea in the table, and the Toffees will fancy their chances of getting at least a point at Stamford Bridge.

Diego Costa is the main threat the Merseysiders will be up against, and there will be concerns over his matchup with Phil Jagielka.

Costa has given Jagielka a torrid time in the past, with the Brazilian’s combination of power and speed too much for the England centre half.

If Everton want to come away with any points from Stamford Bridge, midfielder Idrissa Gueye will have to drop very deep to pick up Costa and protect his defenders.

The issue with this is that it will leave spaces through the middle for a newly freed Eden Hazard to move into, with only a 35 year old Gareth Barry left to stop him. Now that really could get messy.

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