Preview: Everton vs Chelsea: Koulibaly And Sterling In Contention Start Premier League Opener

Chelsea face Everton in their Premier League opener on Saturday evening to mark the start of the 2022/23 campaign. 

It’s a trip on the road for the Blues to start the new league season as they head to Goodison Park to play Frank Lampard’s side. 

Chelsea lost to the Toffees 1-0 back in May when they last went to Merseyside, and they will be keen to add a positive result to their dismal away record against Everton. 

Thomas Tuchel will be backed by two star additions this summer following the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly. Gabriel Slonina, who has returned to Chicago Fire on loan for the rest of the MLS season, and Carney Chukwuemeka have also both been signed this week by the club.

Everton lost their star man Richarlison to Spurs this summer, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been ruled out for six weeks.

"It’s a really tough game to start the season,” admitted Lampard in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

🗣 “It’s a really tough game to start the season.”

Frank Lampard says his side need to take the opportunity to give a good showing in front of the Everton fans as they welcome Chelsea this weekend. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/EtePKyX5eI

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 4, 2022

“It's a difficult game, Chelsea will always be a difficult opponent because of the quality of the squad and quality of the manager."

Lampard added on Calvert-Lewin: "I think we're probably looking at around six weeks for the injury. I saw a lot of crazy rumours yesterday, but he's been assessed over a couple of days and that's where we're at.”

Meanwhile, Salomon Rondon is suspended. Tom Davies, Andre Gomes and Andros Townsend are all out injured, while Seamus Coleman is still returning to full fitness. 

Allan and Asmir Begovic could both be part of the matchday squad. 

For Chelsea, they are expected to have a fully fit squad. Sterling and Koulibaly will be pushing to make their debuts, while Ben Chilwell’s involvement remains unclear as he continued to step up his return to full fitness during pre-season. 

Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher will all be pushing for spots in the midfield, with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz primed for starting roles in the attack. 

When is the match?

It will take place on Saturday 6th August at 5.30pm (UK) time.

Where is the match?

The Premier League match will be held at Goodison Park, Liverpool.

How can I watch the match?

The fixture will be available to watch live on Sky Sports, as well as Sky Go in the United Kingdom. 

For those in the United States, the game can be watched on USA Network.