Chelsea are looking to avoid an unwanted record when they play host to Everton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday lunchtime, a fortnight on from a shock defeat in their opening home match.

The reigning champions of England's top flight have never previously lost their opening two games on their own patch, something the unbeaten Toffees will aim to rewrite as they head to West London.

Chelsea

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It was in this reverse fixture at the end of April, billed as the toughest of the Blues' remaining Premier League fixtures, that Antonio Conte's men well and truly laid down a marker to the pretenders.

After losing two of their previous six games heading into the match to leave the door ajar for Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea struck three times in 20 devastating minutes at Goodison Park to all but seal the title, while at the same time killing off their opponents' hopes of claiming a top-six finish.

Chelsea did indeed go on to secure the title less than a fortnight later, but all has not been well at Stamford Bridge in the weeks and months since. Player unrest has bubbled to the surface, with Diego Costa being dumped via text, and boss Conte has hardly disguised the fact that he is unhappy with his side's transfer business to date.

Defeats in the Community Shield to Arsenal and their Premier League opener against Burnley, the latter sending shockwaves through the division, led to suggestions in the press that Conte - incredibly - could become the first manager to depart his position, three months on from their magical title success.

One result appears to have changed all that, though, as the Blues showed real grit and determination to grind out a 2-1 win away to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, handing the 'crisis baton' over to their opponents at the same time as they struggle to adapt to their temporary new home.

It was far from a vintage Chelsea showing, in truth, though Conte would have been delighted to see his players simply get the job done in what was - on paper, at least - their toughest fixture of the season against last term's second-placed side.

Now the champions must get back on track at Stamford Bridge, as they aim to avoid back-to-back league defeats there for the first time since November 2011, while going further back they have not kicked off their home league campaign with successive home losses since 1978.

With Arsenal and Manchester City to come following the international break, though, Conte will know that anything less than the full three points against Everton will plunge further doubt over his future, particularly if he misses out on the transfer targets he so desperately wants before next Thursday's deadline.

Recent form in Premier League: LW
Recent form (all competitions): LLW

Everton

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The mood is much more positive on the blue half of Merseyside at the moment, though that is not to say that Toffees boss Ronald Koeman does not have any complaints, having taken a swipe at Premier League officials for their fixture scheduling.

After seeing their tricky trip to Man City moved to a Monday night earlier this week, Everton then had to make the trek to Croatia to take on Hajduk Split before preparing for Sunday's early kickoff against champions Chelsea - three away games in the space of six days.

Far from ideal for Koeman and his players, yet with the added strength of his squad - 11 players and counting brought in following Gylfi Sigurdsson's arrival last week - Everton now appear to be well suited to rotate a little throughout what is destined to be a gruelling campaign.

New boy Sigurdsson marked his full debut in style on Thursday evening, volleying home from all of 50 yards to earn the Toffees the 1-1 draw they needed in Croatia to make it through to the Europa League proper, where they have some tasty ties to look forward to.

That draw at the intimidating Poljud Stadium makes it six competitive games without defeat for Everton this season, thanks to previous wins over minnows MFK Ruzomberok and Stoke City, while also holding Man City to a 1-1 draw last time out in the league.

So far, so good for Koeman & Co, then, but there is no denying that the fixture list could have been a lot kinder to them in these opening stages of the campaign. After tackling the Citizens on Monday, Everton must now prepare for games against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United - three of those remaining fixtures being played away - either side of the international break.

It could spell bad news for the Merseysiders, as since the start of 2011 they have won just one of their 40 league meetings away to the previous season's top-six sides - a category that each of Chelsea, Spurs and United fit into.

One man who could prove key is former England international Wayne Rooney, who has six goals and a couple of assists against Chelsea in 24 previous league encounters, but he last scored in three successive league games 19 months ago.

Recent form in Premier League: WD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWDD

Team News

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Newly-appointed Chelsea captain Gary Cahill continues to miss out due to the three-match ban for his opening-day dismissal, but Cesc Fabregas is back after serving his suspension.

Despite being called up to the Belgium national squad for next month's qualifiers, Conte has confirmed that Eden Hazard is still not yet ready to return to competitive action.

The Blues will look a little more solid at the back, meanwhile, as David Luiz is expected to shuffle into defence, with the ever-reliable Cesar Azpilicueta and summer recruit Antonio Rudiger either side.

In terms of the visitors, Koeman is awaiting updates on the fitness of Sandro Ramirez and Idrissa Gueye, the latter of whom will be replaced by fit-again midfielder Mohamed Besic should he fail to win his battle.

Elsewhere, Morgan Schneiderlin is serving a suspension for the red shown to him against Man City, while James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman, Ramiro Funes Mori, Ross Barkley and Yannick Bolasie are all unavailable for selection.

Rooney, aiming to build on his impressive scoring return to Goodison Park, will likely start just ahead of Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger; Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso; Fabregas, Willian; Morata

Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Keane, Williams, Jagielka; Holgate, Gueye, Davies, Baines; Calvert-Lewin, Sigurdsson, Rooney

Head To Head

Chelsea have a good record against Everton, particularly in recent times thanks to seven wins in the last 10 Premier League encounters.

The Blues are also currently on a 22-match unbeaten run against this weekend's opponents at The Bridge, dating back to a 1-0 loss 23 years ago.

Everton have only ever fared worse against one other side in that respect, failing to beat Leeds United in 36 attempts away from home between 1953 and 2001.

We say: Chelsea 2-1 Everton

Everton have a pretty dismal record in away matches against top-six sides, though they did pick up a well-earned point at Man City last time out in the league. The season may still be young yet even at this early stage fatigue could play a factor for the Toffees, whose unbeaten start is at risk of coming to an end on Sunday.

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