Mauricio Pochettino is wary of the threat of an ‘aggressive’ Everton side as Chelsea travel to face the Merseysiders this weekend.
Chelsea take on Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon, with the latter in good form after three wins in four Premier League games.
The Toffees climbed out of the Premier League’s relegation places after beating Newcastle 3-0 on Thursday evening, despite the club’s 10-point deduction for breaching the division’s profit and sustainability rules.
Had Everton not been sanctioned, Sean Dyche’s side would be 10th, a point and place above Chelsea.
Pochettino is prepared for a tough game against an Everton side still reeling from their punishment. The Argentine has called the contest a ‘massive challenge’ for his Chelsea side.
“It’s going to be really tough, but they were doing fantastic this season and that [10 point deduction] happened. I know Sean Dyche very well and I always admire him because of what he achieved with Burnley,” Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference.
“Yes, it’s going to be tough because the feeling is that this [point deduction] is unfair and they were treated unfair. That is the feeling they have and of course when you feel like this, you feel freedom and have nothing to lose.
“They have good players and Sean is doing a great job and it’s going to be tough after last night. Massive victory for them against Newcastle, 3-0 and I think they’ll be motivated to face us but every game is different but we need to be ready to compete better than we have done in the last game.
“It’s a different style, they can play in different ways. Dyche’s football is really aggressive, it’s brave. We’re going to find a team that’s going to press high and be aggressive and can build from the back and also play direct and it’s going to be interesting because they’re going to be a massive challenge for us.”
