Preparing to visit Goodison Park for the second time this season, Petr Cech is hoping for a more relaxed time than in January, the day his daughter Adela was born.

Cech missed his baby's birth in the Czech Republic as he was with the rest of the squad on Merseyside, readying himself for out Carling Cup semi-final second leg against the Toffees.

His performance that night was exemplary, making a string of important saves to guarantee our passage to Wembley. It was impressive stuff given the lack of sleep he had gained the night before, owing to near constant telephone dialogue with his family and wife Martina.

This time is sure to live long in the memory too, but for rather different reasons as the goalkeeper is currently sporting a second protective piece of headgear to protect his injured face.

'It is something extra but when I played as a goalie in ice hockey you had a mask all over the face so I have no problem with it,' Cech said, having worn the mask against Wigan on Monday.

'Of course it looks a bit strange on the football field but if this is the only way I can protect the wound and play, I have no problem. If you see only my eyes I am not bothered, as long as I can play the game. It is okay, it is light and of course it is different but as long as everyone understands what I shout it is okay.'

When asked about his recollections of January's game, and the significance that fixture now holds, Cech said: 'I will always have special memories of playing at Goodison Park because my baby was born that day of the semi-final, and I had a good game, so the memories will always be there.

'I hope this time of course we will get a similar result, we need it, and it would be great to win there.'

With points dropped at Stamford Bridge three days ago, there is no room for error tonight if we are to stay in the title race. Ignoring the inconvenience of playing on a Thursday evening following a Monday fixture, Cech spoke with determination.

'We don't throw in the towel yet, we have four games to go, but I think we can only hope if we win all four games, that's what we need to aim for now,' reasoned the 25-year-old.

'If we win all four, we need somebody to do us a favour and beat Manchester United, because the goal difference is not so good. Now we don't have it in our hands and we need to wait and see.'

Perusing United's fixtures, Cech identified a potential stumbling block at Ewood Park.

'You never know, Blackburn away is a difficult game, and it is always difficult to win in the Premier League, but we can't forget we have four games to play and we have to make sure we win all four.'

That mission begins against Everton this evening. We are evens favourites to come away with all three points, and you can follow the game live on Chelsea Plus, or via this website on the Matchday Centre.