Many of Chelsea’s rivals for a Champions League slot have what appears on paper a winnable game this weekend – though after Liverpool’s stumble at Watford, who knows?

The fact remains the Blues need to take care of business, and set aside old friendships. Defeat Carlo Ancelotti’s much-revived Everton, and the momentum and atmosphere of Tuesday at Stamford Bridge can continue into a run-in that still has great promise for Frank Lampard’s side.

Meanwhile, Toffees coach Ancelotti has not been suspended for the red card shown after the draw with Manchester United, and will be able to sit pitchside on his old stomping ground.

Considering the thrilling Double-winning season he steered Chelsea (and Frank Lampard) through in 2009/10, most season ticket holders at the Bridge would have been be delighted to sit beside the affable Italian in the stands.

Long-running unbeaten streak

Everton have a poor record away to many of the big clubs, but Chelsea’s dominance of this fixture over the past quarter-of-a-century is phenomenal. The Blues are unbeaten in 24 Premier League encounters with the Toffees at the Bridge since December 1994 (13 of them wins).

The only team against whom we have ever enjoyed a longer unbeaten home league run was Tottenham, sent packing without the three points on 25 occasions between 1993 and 2016.

The current sequence is the Liverpudlians’ worst in the top flight since they endured 35 winless trips to Leeds between 1946 and 2001. Their last league goal at the Bridge was in January 2016, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 13 top-flight games on the road this season.

A win for the Blues would also seal a Mersey double after the electrifying cup victory against the league leaders on Tuesday.

Happy Gilmour

Lampard hailed his team’s performance during the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Liverpool as ‘a template for us in terms of the work ethic, spirit and quality we need’.

He was also full of praise for Billy Gilmour, the young central midfielder who could step in while Jorginho serves a three-match suspension and N’Golo Kante and potentially Mateo Kovacic recover from injuries.

There were strong echoes in 18-year-old Gilmour’s display of his hero Cesc Fabregas, who took to Twitter to praise the Scot’s intelligence, desire, and aggression against a strong side fielded by the runaway league leaders. Still, arguably the most remarkable statistic from that evening was the 5ft 7in midfielder’s 100 per cent (2/2) record in aerial challenges.

Marcos Alonso excelled again and was the Blues’ most regularly involved player, completing the most passes, though not in his familiar wing-back role but as part of a defensive four.

Incidentally, Tuesday evening was the third occasion on which Chelsea have knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup when they were reigning European champions. The previous two were a 4-2 win on 7 January 1978 and 2-0 on 13 February 1982. The west Londoners are unbeaten in the past five domestic cup encounters with the Reds.

It’s written in the stats

Beating Liverpool in the FA Cup was rewarded with a trip to Leicester in round six, the quarter-finals. Coincidentally, like each of the previous opponents this FA Cup campaign, Chelsea have previously beaten the hosts several times en route to winning the trophy, in 1996/97, 1999/00, 2011/12, and 2017/18.

Round three visitors Nottingham Forest were seen off in 1999/00 and 2006/07, Hull City in 1999/00 and 2017/18, and Liverpool in 1996/97 and 2011/12. The only other members of that ‘club’ still left in the competition are Manchester United and Norwich.

FA Cup and Champions League catch-up

FA Cup round six matches will take place between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 March and will be played to a conclusion on the day, including extra-time and penalties if required.

Bayern Munich have won 6-0 and 1-0 away in the league and cup since our meeting, with 18-year-old Joshua Zirkzee deputising for injured striker Robert Lewandowski. They entertain Augsberg on Sunday.

European place chase

Chelsea remained in a Champions League-qualifying position despite dropping points at Bournemouth because the form of teams aiming to leapfrog the Blues has been equally inconsistent since the midway point of the season. Everton’s record over that period has only been bettered by the current top two.

The Ancelotti effect

Since Ancelotti succeeded caretaker Duncan Ferguson his Toffees have surged up the table, with improvements in lots of areas, some of which will chime with Chelsea supporters who watched his prolific Blues in the 2009/10 run-in.

The manager quickly felt the aerial strength and pace of his two strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison (who has often played wide in a 4-3-3), made them best suited to central roles in a 4-4-2 – the Arrigo Sacchi acolyte’s preferred defensive set-up.

As a result, over that period they rank first for scoring from set-plays and attempts from headers, second in corners that meet a team-mate, and third behind the top two on goals for.

The recently returned Andre Gomes has brought quality previously lacking to midfield, but the Italian is yet to find a preferred man for the right in that area.

And although making Mason Holgate the cornerstone of his defence has helped reduce the number of attempts they concede each game, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s mistakes maintain a high profile. Only Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka has made more errors leading to goals in the league than the England man.

Coming up

Ahead of the Blues’ trip to Aston Villa next Saturday, the Villans can be seen in action on Monday evening when they take on third-placed Leicester at the King Power Stadium.

Next up for Chelsea Women it’s back-to-back matches in cup and league against Everton, starting away on Sunday 15 March in the FA Cup. Tickets for the crucial WSL game at Kingsmeadow a week later can be bought here.

Three points clear in PL2 with four matches left to play, Andy Myers’ Under-23s return to action against Blackburn at Ewood Park on Monday 16 March, a 7pm kick-off.

Welcome back, Carletto

Ancelotti will receive a warm welcome at the Bridge on Sunday. He has always said he had a ‘fantastic’ time at Chelsea, noting ‘the club has a lucky relationship with Italian managers.’

The Blues’ only Double-winning coach to date has added plenty more to his CV since receiving the bad news of his departure at Goodison Park in May 2011, not least a small cameo appearance as a doctor in ‘Star Trek: Beyond’, thanks to his friendship with actress Zoe Saldana.

It is surprising, though, that his current Everton squad would be unaware he was also a European Cup-winning player with Milan. Apparently, he discovered otherwise during a team meeting while explaining why, in his personal experience, Andre Gomes would like to be thrown straight in after a long injury. Noticing a few puzzled faces, he asked if any of them had ever seen footage of him in action back in the day. None had, creating something of a ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ moment.

Future Blues shine in Mumbai

Chelsea Under-14s, led by Academy coach and mentor Hassan Sulaiman, were winners of last week’s prestigious Next Generation Mumbai Cup 2020, a joint Premier League/Indian Super League project.

Three Under-14 Premier League sides – the others being Manchester United and Southampton – competed against the under-15s of three local clubs, Reliance Foundation Young Champs, FC Goa, and Bengaluru.

Methodical and skilful – an ‘unstoppable locomotive’ according to one local commentator – the young Blues won all five of their 50-minute matches, conceding just one goal and scoring 15.

City match postponed

As a consequence of both teams progressing in the FA Cup, our Premier League match at home to Manchester City on 21 March has been postponed. A new date will be announced in due course.

Premier League fixtures

SaturdayLiverpool v Bournemouth 12.30pm (BT Sport)Arsenal v West Ham 3pmCrystal Palace v Watford 3pmSheffield United v Norwich 3pmSouthampton v Newcastle 3pmWolves v Brighton 3pmBurnley v Tottenham 5.30pm (Sky Sports)

SundayChelsea v Everton 2pm (Sky Sports)Man Utd v Man City 4.30pm (Sky Sports)

MondayLeicester v Aston Villa 8pm (Sky Sports)

WednesdayMan City v Arsenal 7.30pm (Sky Sports)

Watch Matchday Live on The 5th Stand from 1.45pm on Sunday