Chelsea Match Preview

Champions Chelsea are marooned in mid-table after a miserable start and can ill-afford a third defeat of the season when they take on Everton.

Jose Mourinho's side languish in 13th place in the Premier League table after a disappointing start that has seen the champions lose two games, draw another and win just once so far this season.

Everton, on the other hand, lie four places above Chelsea in ninth place but have still endured a mixed set of results.

The main focus of attention at Goodison Park will be Everton defender John Stones, who failed in his attempt to force through a move to Chelsea after his club rejected his transfer request and snubbed the Blues' offer of around £30 million for the England international.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez expects Stones to cope with the scrutiny.

"John has gone from strength to strength in a period of high pressure and has used it in the right way, taking the support of everyone at the club and has performed with incredible maturity and composure," he said.

Form guide and previous meetings

Chelsea have secured just four points from their first four games of the new campaign and, while this term's results will be concerning for Mourinho, some of his players' individual performances - and the fact they haven't looked like improving - will also be worrying for the Portuguese tactician.

The likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic have found themselves in the spotlight after some under-par showings for the Blues, which Mourinho will be hoping changes following the international break.

Everton come into the game with slightly better results than their opponents on Saturday, however, after opening up the season with a 2-2 home draw against Watford, a 3-0 win over Southampton, a 2-0 loss to Manchester City and finally a goalless draw away to Tottenham in their final game before the international break.

Despite Chelsea's woes, though, the Blues did do the double over the Toffees last season - first beating Everton 6-3 at Goodison Park last August before securing a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture in February.

Team news

Martinez will be without midfielder Tom Cleverley for the game against Chelsea after he injured his ligaments against Tottenham, which will see him miss the next six to eight weeks as he recovers.

"With that sort of injury, ligament damage, you can normally expect a period of six to eight weeks," Martinez confirmed on Thursday. "Knowing Tom and how fit and strong he is, maybe we are looking at the six week period rather than the eight week period. It’s along those lines.

"He’s a strong boy and hopefully he’ll be back quicker than any medical report will say."

The Everton boss also revealed that Bryan Oviedo remains a doubt to feature after sustaining a knee injury that caused him to miss out on Costa Rica’s recent internationals, but confirmed Brendan Galloway is expected to be fit in time for Saturday while he could also start new signing Ramiro Funes Mori at left-back.

Mourinho will also be without one of his main players after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois injured his knee in training on Wednesday. The Portuguese tactician is not expected to confirm the injury until his press conference on Friday, but it is understood the Belgian will miss at least 13 games.

Injured: Thibaut Courtois will miss the game against Everton with an injury sustained in training

Everton possible starting XI: Howard, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Galloway, Barry, MCCarthy, Mirallas, Barkley, Lennon, Lukaku.

Chelsea possible starting XI: Begovic, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.

Leaders Manchester City will face a stern examination of the top tier's last remaining 100 percent record when they travel to in-form Crystal Palace.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have won all four of their matches in swaggering style, raising hopes they can wrestle the title away from Chelsea.

But the Eagles won't be push-overs after climbing to second place on the back of three victories, including a stunning 2-1 win at Chelsea in their last match.

And Palace boss Alan Pardew has warned City that his team have nothing to lose when they face the league superpowers.

"It's an unusual position for us and something we probably can't sustain for a long period, but in the short term we can enjoy it. We deserve to be there after four games," Pardew said.