No need to fear Chelsea - David Moyes

Nov 10 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

CONFIDENT David Moyes believes tomorrow’s visit to championship-challenging Chelsea will hold no fears for his buoyant Everton.

The Goodison Park outfit make the trip to the capital with self-belief soaring after securing a fifth successive victory by beating Nurnberg 2-0 in Germany on Thursday night.

Everton gained a creditable 1-1 draw at Chelsea on the final day of last season, and were only denied victory by a controversial equaliser.

As well as at Stamford Bridge, Moyes’s side were unbeaten at Anfield and the Emirates last season and have already won at Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers in this campaign.

Allied to European victories at Metalist Kharkiv and now Nurnberg, Moyes believes his team have no reason to be intimidated by any threat away from Goodison.

“I thought we were unlucky at Stamford Bridge last season, we should have won and that would have made us finish fifth in the Premier League,” said the Everton manager.

“We need to go there and do the same again.

“We respect Chelsea and are aware of the quality in their team but we won’t be intimidated by them.

“If in the future we want to be competing with them and pushing them hard in the league, then we have to show we can go there and stand up to them and give them a good game.

“We’ve done well away from home in a lot of games and we need to do it again.”

Moyes added: “We are scoring some goals and we have had a few clean sheets so that bodes well. We are on a decent run just now but it would be nice to finish for the international break with another win.

“We are scoring goals and getting twos and threes at the moment so let’s hope we have some left over for the Chelsea game.”

Victory at Stamford Bridge – which would be Everton’s first at the stadium since 1994 – would move Moyes’s side to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

And the Goodison Park manager added: “There could be an opening in the top four this season, but you will have to be considerably consistent to do that because that’s what the top teams do.

“We did it two years ago, so it can be done.

“The more it gets broken into, then the better it can be for everyone.”

Although Chelsea will be without influential injured duo Petr Cech and John Terry, Moyes believes the Londoners are beginning to find their best form after an indifferent start to the campaign.

“You’d always rather Chelsea didn’t have their best players, but all the big teams have players in and around the squad that make replacements look seamless,” he said.

“But over a period of time, anyone would miss the likes of Petr Cech and John Terry.

“They didn’t start the season as well as they can do, but they are still in for the championship and I think Avram Grant has done a great job since taking over.

“But credit must go to the Chelsea players, they have kicked on again.”

Victor Anichebe was an inspired late substitute on Thursday night, winning the penalty from which Mikel Arteta gave Everton the lead before netting a fine solo second in the closing moments.

And Moyes has challenged the 19-year-old to begin making a similar impact when named in the starting line-up.

“Victor now has a real opportunity if he wants to knuckle down and be really determined to succeed,” he said. “He has come on and made an impact in games, but now he needs to start games and make the same impact. That will come with maturity and a little bit more experience.

“We’ve got great competition at centre forward. Look at the form Faddy has been in earlier in the season, and we have Yakubu and AJ. The players are all scoring goals, and we need them all to keep their tallies ticking over.”

Andrew Johnson (ankle) is out of tomorrow’s game while there will be late decision over the fitness of Alan Stubbs (hamstring) and Leighton Baines (ankle).

Mikel Arteta is one of several players to have suffered knocks on Thursday night, and is a slight doubt with a minor groin strain.

Meanwhile, Phil Neville and Joleon Lescott have been named in the England squad for the friendly in Austria and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia at Wembley later this month.