IT was a baking afternoon the last time Everton and Chelsea crossed swords. Now, however, the heat is on David Moyes’s side for altogether different reasons.

Fortunes have changed somewhat for the Goodison outfit since their FA Cup final against the Londoners at Wembley in May.

While Chelsea have built on their success that day to storm clear at the top of the Premier League this season, matters have taken a turn for the worse for their vanquished opponents.

Now Everton make the ominous trip to Stamford Bridge this afternoon aiming to alter the course of history by building on their recent encouraging form and pulling clear of the relegation zone they remain hovering precariously above.

Infamously, Everton have not beaten Chelsea since the 2-1 home win in November 2000, with they last away triumph a further six years earlier, their only such success during the Premier League era.

The Wembley defeat put into sharp focus that obvious difference between the sides, but Moyes does not believe it will have any bearing on today’s encounter.

“I don’t think the players have a point to prove after what happened in the FA Cup final,” he says. “On the day of the game, we said Chelsea were better on the day. They have always been hard opponents for us.

“Over the years, we have done quite well against them in the league, but in the cups we’ve lost to them in the FA Cup and the Carling Cup semi-final.

“I don’t think there’ll be any psychological afternoon from the Cup final either. That game has gone, it’s water under the bridge now. And in the same breath, I don’t think Chelsea will be thinking too much about it either.”

Although Carlo Ancelotti’s side have shown signs of fallibility on the road, they have been imperious in the Premier League on their own patch.

Chelsea have scored 20 unanswered league goals at Stamford Bridge since the 2-1 win over Hull City on the opening day of the season, going a total of 10 hours and two minutes without conceding a goal.

Everton, though, have remained unbeaten on their last three league visits to the stadium, earning a goalless draw in the Cup final dress rehearsal in April.

But Moyes is under no illusion of the task facing his players this afternoon.