On form and with no one-off 'Dunc Factor', this, sadly, is Chelsea's game to lose.

The best we can hope for is some sort of result and a better all around performance that shows lessons, for both coach and players, are starting to be heeded and that all and sundry actually give a fuck.

Last year against Chelsea, it was an unforgettable day for all Blues who were in that stadium. This time round, there's only 2,000 of us Toffees in the stadium; hopefully they will witness something similar to last year. COYB

On the other hand, the optimist in me says our luck and form has to change sometime and it's only 11 vs 11 and Chelsea were in Europe on Wednesday.

So come on, Blues, dig a win out from somewhere and let hope and faith take over from despair.

One minor disagreement: while we all enjoyed the speed with which we came out of the traps (seven straight wins), I don't believe it was ever scintillating.

The win at Tottenham was fantastic and had many a Blue believing the three signings were going to be the answers to our prayers... but (Spurs game aside), there was always a hint of "all fur coat and no knickers" about us. If you take away the dismissals of the lower league teams, you have to remember that we were involved in a few games which could very easily have gone the other way, the scorelines flattered us.

The defeats have not been that much different to the victories. There are always periods in our games when you hope or fear the result will go either way. We rarely dominate and we are rarely dominated.

The real Slim Shady has stood up and he is an inconsistent motherfucker.

I think our two Columbian internationals epitomise what we are. Everytime you think the penny has finally dropped with big Yerry, he turns in a Weston. We all knew that we were getting a blindingly talented player when James arrived. Many thought landing a world class player on the cheap was simply too good to be true. That's because it was. We are now seeing the flip side, the reason there was no battle for his signature, even when it had become clear that both Bayern and Madrid decided he was surplus.

Ancelotti has not signed bad players, but ask Norwich fans about Godfrey. They will tell you he is top notch "On his day"...

And what about Doucouré? He has many Blues frustrated wondering when we will see the very best of him. Watford fans felt the same for years. They were still saying it about him as he packed his bags to come here.

Carlo inherited an appallingly inconsistent group of players, but all he has done is add a little more inconsistency – possibly a little harsh on the tackling machine.

I never look too far ahead but, having seen the up-coming fixtures laid out by Lyndon, I fully expect many a Blue to be watching them from behind the couch. Not me. I don't even trust this team to be bad. I won't concede a single point before these games are played.

We have usually upped our game for the big boys and Arsenal are a strange outfit at present. Leicester have also had some off-days of late.

I also hope that a win on Saturday could rekindle our confidence and give us a much-needed fillip. With the fans in (even just 2,000), it will make a huge difference, then let's see what we can do.

And there is the issue many feared when he arrived.

Historically his success is via a plethora of quality players in quality squads; tub-thumping speeches in such circles would be seen as the behaviour of a heathen.

Furthermore, there is no evidence careerwise to suggest he can inspire a team to exceed the limitations of its component parts.

The fear Everton and Carlo were an incongruous match is being confirmed with every passing week.

Surely the best way forward (step up here, Marcel Brands) is to allow Carlo to coach and cajole in the build-up and then let Duncan loose 15 minutes before kick-off to add the fireworks?

The midfield however is far too slow and don't chip in with goals or even assists. Allan has only scored 11 goals in his entire career and Gomes only 13. When was the last time Gomes put someone through for a goal?

At present, while Richarlison's goal touch is off, the manager's team talk must be keep tight on James and on Calvert-Lewin in the box.

I have seen so many disappointments when all buoyed up expecting a good run with a team that can be right up there with the best.

Whilst not expecting great early success under Carlo, I would have thought that, after a year, there may be signs of a new era emerging; after the first month of this season, we all could have been forgiven for thinking we had arrived.

Since then, it has been an almighty letdown… so why think the next bunch of games will be any different?

Carlo is no Svengali, that's obvious… and his success in the past throughout his career may be over.

We cannot point to the Richarlison suspension, or the absence of Seamus and Lucas. Everton had ample opportunity to have a deep squad available but it seems it still is quite weak.

The people we have on the bench don't seem to fit the bill and, in January, we all hope some more quality players can come in, especially in midfield where we are particularly wide open at times.

Chelsea are not that great and Everton can beat them but they need to match the workrate in midfield; otherwise, it will be another miserable day.

1. Pep £20M
2. Jose £15M
3. Guy with the beard and glasses and regular visitor to the dentist £15M
4. Carlo £11.5M
5. Brendan £10M
6. Bielsa £8M
7. OGS £7.5M
All the others: less than £6M

From that perspective, Everton FC and its fans are right to demand more from Carlo than we've seen so far. I appreciate that it will take time to reshape things and we will have blips in form from time to time, but we really should be seeing signs of life from Carlo's team and not some of the stuff we've seen in some games this season.

On another note, there are changes afoot to European competitions with the 'big six' set to be almost guaranteed a place in a revamped Champions League format, which will add more games to the competition (Jurgen will be pleased!), but will make it more difficult for clubs like Everton FC to access – there is no time to lose, Carlo.

Whatever formation or team we select we will have our work cut out big time on Saturday. Chelsea just have too much quality and energy.

I have been impressed with Ben Godfrey. Right-back, central defender, left-back and he's only been here a few weeks. The lad seems as honest as they come and he has done the club and his teammates proud.

A more stable organised team needs to be used through these matches. Coleman if fit, or Kenny needs to be played. Godfrey at left-back for now as he's more experienced and done relatively well. Even though I am desperate to see Nkounkou play, so either I just want to see a stable organised defence.

Siggurdson and Delph (when fit!) cannot be starting matches, that leaves Gomes or Tom.

Gomes is the slowest midfielder and suffers acute mobility issues. He maybe better of as the holding midfielder where he can just do his jog every now and then but play to his strengths at shielding the ball and passing out wide to James or Richarlison or over the top to Calvert-Lewin. Either side of him, Allan and Doucouré can be freed to attack with the ball a bit more.

Or forget the lot of them and try Holgate or Godfrey as the holding midfielder. They both have limited experience of the role, but the question is would they be worse than the slow static and 80% fit Gomes?

Can Mr Ancelotti motivate this team like Duncan did in this fixture last year? We live in hope.

Everton's biggest problem is not when they have got the ball, it's when they haven't got the ball imo, and it's the reason why we are giving up way too many chances to the opposition.

Looking at that clip, I'd say we must have three players near the halfway line, so it's a 4 against 3 defensively for Burnley?

Our balance hasn't been right since Liverpool exposed our midfield; until we get proper pace at the back, we must surely go back to defending deep as a team.

Otherwise, the mixture, is totally wrong, because we have midfielders wanting to press, and defenders preferring to drop off, and the only thing being created is big holes for the opposition to exploit.

It looks obvious enough to me, and I'm not sure we can be so open when we haven't got the pace at the back.

Maybe it it is just me but, looking at the TV pictures of Carlo and Duncan during games, Carlo doesn't appear to take much notice of Duncan and it's always Duncan approaching Carlo, never the other way round. I'd like to know how much input Duncan has in his position as one of the coaches at Finch Farm?

Why you have highlighted these 2 still frames as if they prove a point? If you took a picture of most teams having the ball at the back, this is what you would see.

The only exceptions would be Liverpool and Man City were most teams wouldn't dream of pressing these 2 sides so high up the pitch because the quality they have would tear the opposition apart if they pressed high.

Man for man they are on paper a much superior team but as we all know football isn't played on paper.

No Coleman, Digne or Rodriguez will show the strength of our squad.

I wouldn't mind seeing us revert to 2 up top now that Rodriguez is out.

Patrick #12 I hope our players don't realise that every one of them is on less money than all of the Chelsea team it might provide an inferiority complex.