Kick-off time and how to watch

Tonight’s game at starts at 7pm UK time. It is available to watch live and for free on the website and the 5th Stand app, with coverage starting shortly before the action starts. A full match report will be online following the final whistle.

Chelsea form

We earned our third point of the calendar year in the last outing against Brighton. Andy Myers’ dominant side were denied by the woodwork on three occasions as we tried to overcome the Seagulls, but had to settle for the point. After 16 league games, we sit seventh on 25 points.

The opposition

Everton are level on points with Chelsea having played a game more than the Blues. Three wins from their last five games, including a 3-1 win over Manchester Unites, means the Toffees arrive in Kingston in good form. Everton inflicted defeat on us in the reverse fixture, Ellis Simms and Tyler Onyango scored a goal each as we left Merseyside empty handed back in November.

Last five results

Leicester 2-4 EvertonDerby 1-3 EvertonMan City 3-1 EvertonEverton 3-1 Man UnitedTottenham 2-1 Everton

From the dressing room

There have been four development squad starts for central defender Sam McClelland this season. Having recovered from an Achillies injury at the start of the campaign the 19-year-old reflects on his last six months.

‘It’s been a tough season for me, I came back to training in the summer with an Achilles problem and it has kept me a few weeks behind everyone else. It’s been frustrating to deal with,’ he said.

‘Since the summer I’ve had to be patient and consistent in keeping the problem away,’ he explained. 'Now, after working behind the scenes on the injury I managed to get into a position before Christmas where I was back and available for games and it was great to be able to play my first game because it made my hungry to put the tough spell behind me.

The Northern Ireland youth international started in all but two games for Ed Brand’s Under-18s last season, captaining the team on numerous occasions, and feels as though he has started to adapt well to playing football at a new level.

‘You can definitely see the difference and jump in level. The physicality and quality of the players and teams are clear to see,’ he adds. ‘In the games I’ve played so far I think I’ve adapted well and I have definitely been comfortable playing at the back.’

The clean sheet in the last game provides a stepping stone for the development squad to build upon, and McClelland wants something to show for it when the final whistle sounds against Everton.

‘In the last few weeks we have been disappointed with the results, maybe we deserved a win in a few of the games but that's easy to say, we need to actually do it on the pitch. The clean sheet last week is something to build on and it’s just a case of piecing everything together and earning a result in Friday’s game against Everton.'

Academy contracts

In other Academy news Jimi Tauriainen has signed his first professional contract at Chelsea having arrived at the club in the summer from Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi in his native Finland. Meanwhile, development squad goalkeeper Karlo Ziger this week signed a year extension to his current contract keeping him at the Blues until the summer of 2022.