Everton manager Sean Dyche has shared what he noticed about Chelsea after watching them play at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Everton host Chelsea this Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, but both teams played midweek fixtures as the busy December schedule kicked in.
Chelsea suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United a couple of days ago. In contrast, Everton recorded an eye-catching 3-0 win last night at home to Newcastle United.
The schedule allowed Dyche to run a scouting mission at Old Trafford ahead of this weekend’s match with Chelsea.
Everton boss impressed
Despite watching Chelsea lose in Manchester, Everton boss Dyche has been extremely complimentary of his team’s upcoming opponent.
He spotted that Mauricio Pochettino’s side do still possess great quality and speed after seeing them live. In addition, they were a lot better in the second-half against Man United after a poor first period.
“I think they are a very strong outfit. I know they’ve been a bit up and down, new manager finding his group,” Dyche said, as quoted by talkSPORT.
“I was at Old Trafford. They’ve still got quality, still got pace, still got a depth of experience in football…
“They might have some inexperience in the Premier League, but they’ve also got some experience in other leagues. They’ve got players who’ve been bought in for a lot of money, and usually there’s a reason why that is.
“I saw them and I think they’re still a good outfit, so we’ve got to be ready without a doubt… I saw them at Old Trafford and they regathered themselves after a quiet first-half. They regathered themselves second-half and looked like an outfit.”
Sean Dyche reaction to Chelsea
We’re never expecting any Premier League manager to come out and speak negatively about a rival club, so don’t read too much into Dyche’s comments.
Our general feeling is that the performance at Man United was one of the club’s worst in quite a long time.
Speaking via Sportskeeda this week, Paul Merson has predicted a comfortable victory for Everton at home to Chelsea.
If you look at the speed and intensity that the Toffees play at, Chelsea could be the tailor-made opponent for them.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
