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Could Everton's home form disrupt Chelsea's title charge?

Could Everton be the team who open the title race up with a victory against Chelsea on Sunday?

It's one of the best winning sequences in this season's Premier League, but could Everton's run of home victories now become the key to derailing Chelsea's title charge?

With eight of them in succession - the highlight being a 4-0 rout of Manchester City in January - Everton have reached that mark for the first time in 27 years.

Now, as they aim for a ninth consecutive home league win, getting it could prove to be crucial in determining who replaces Leicester as champions.

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With Chelsea and Tottenham both winning in midweek, they remain separated by just four points at the summit with five games each to play.

The first of those for both come on an intriguing Super Sunday live on Sky Sports 1, with the teams facing sides they have indifferent records against at the venues where they will play.

Remaining fixtures - Chelsea and Tottenham

Date Match
April 30 Everton v Chelsea
April 30 Tottenham v Arsenal
May 5 West Ham v Tottenham
May 8 Chelsea v Middlesbrough
May 12 West Brom v Chelsea
May 14 Tottenham v Manchester United
May 15 Chelsea v Watford
May 18 Leicester v Tottenham
May 21 Chelsea v Sunderland
May 21 Hull City v Tottenham

In short, it could be a defining afternoon, with a significant slip from either contender distinctly possible.

Tottenham will take on their north London rivals Arsenal, who they have beaten just once in their last nine meetings.

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Their home record against Arsene Wenger's team is much better than their form at the Emirates and the fact the game takes place at White Hart Lane should steady nerves.

during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 6, 2016 in London, England.
Image: Tottenham will look for a 13th successive home victory in the Premier League when they face Arsenal this weekend

While the last three months have often been turbulent for Arsenal, they travel off the back of three consecutive wins and will be heartened by their own past results at Spurs.

Although Wenger's squad have won just four times in their last 13 meetings there, they have also lost only five of those.

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Indeed, there has been the same outcome in consecutive games - a pair of Arsenal wins at that - just once in that sequence.

Tottenham, in possession of the Premier League's longest ongoing winning run at home after 12 successive victories, will be confident of adding a 13th.

Best PL home winning runs - 2016/17

Team Games won Duration
Tottenham 12 November 19-present
Chelsea 10 October 15-March 13
Everton 8 January 2-present

Yet, one of the biggest driving factors for them might well be how the team with the second-longest chain of victories at their own ground just now does first.

Everton's meeting with Chelsea will finish before Tottenham and Arsenal kick off and an away win on Merseyside will heap the pressure back on Mauricio Pochettino's men once again.

Should things go the other way, however, an opportunity to blow the title race wide open once again will arise.

Even accounting for Chelsea's 5-0 win in the reverse fixture last November, Goodison Park is not a venue they traditionally do well at.

Romelu Lukaku celebrates after opening the scoring
Image: Romelu Lukaku scored twice to knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup last season at Goodison Park, a ground where the London club has just three wins in 11 visits

They have just three wins in their last 11 visits and lost twice there last season, first in a 3-1 Premier League reverse then 2-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals six months later.

Romelu Lukaku scored both goals in the latter game and has been an integral cog in Ronald Koeman's well-oiled Everton side of late.

A scorer in every single one of their eight home victories, he also netted in their 2-1 defeat to Leicester in the FA Cup to bring his own run of goals in consecutive outings at Goodison to nine.

Kevin Mirallas doubles Everton's lead with a low drive
Image: Everton's 4-0 destruction of Manchester City was their most impressive result of the season

In doing so, he matched the legendary Dixie Dean's club record set in 1934 - and will be determined to beat it outright against his former employers.

Lukaku's double last season gave him his first goals as an Everton player against Chelsea and he has blossomed considerably in the time since.

The Premier League's leading scorer with 24 goals so far this season, he is in a rich vein of form and will be a focal point in a team which will feel it can disrupt the momentum Antonio Conte's side has.

Of course, analysis of Everton's winning run might lead cynics to doubt how impressive it actually is and that is understandable.

Everton's home winning sequence

Date Opponent Result
January 2 Southampton 3-0
January 15 Manchester City 4-0
February 4 Bournemouth 6-3
February 25 Sunderland 2-0
March 11 West Brom 3-0
March 18 Hull City 4-0
April 9 Leicester City 4-2
April 15 Burnley 3-1

Five of their eight wins have come against bottom-eight sides who are either close to relegation or not yet safe from dropping into the Championship.

While scoring at least three times against Burnley, Leicester, Hull and Bournemouth made for comfortable victories, is that not what a team with European aspirations should do anyway?

There is perhaps more to be taken from looking at how leading sides have fared in the league at Goodison this term.

A 1-0 Liverpool win courtesy of Sadio Mane's stoppage-time goal in December shows they are beatable - but it also stands as the sole example of them being overcome on their own patch.

Sadio Mane celebrates his winner for Liverpool at Everton in the Premier League
Image: Liverpool are the only team to have gone to Goodison Park and won in the Premier League so far this season

Tottenham and Manchester United were both held to 1-1 draws and while Arsenal were not mauled in the way City were ruthlessly taken apart, they still lost 2-1 to Ashley William's late header.

With 12 wins from 17 outings, only the top two in the table have a better record at home this season than Everton and that will sound as a genuine warning to Conte.

This is his side's toughest remaining test - and Tottenham need Everton to do them a turn because the bulk of Chelsea's other fixtures appear favourable.

Premier League top 10 using home results only

Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
Tottenham 17 15 2 0 43 8 47
Chelsea 16 14 0 2 43 13 42
Everton 17 12 4 1 41 13 40
Liverpool 17 11 4 2 42 18 37
Arsenal 16 11 3 2 32 15 36
Burnley 17 10 2 5 23 16 32
Man City 15 8 6 1 27 15 30
Man Utd 17 7 9 1 23 11 30
Leicester 16 9 3 4 26 18 30
West Brom 17 9 2 6 27 20 29

Needing four wins to take the title, their next outing is at home to Middlesbrough, a team which has not scored in eight visits to Stamford Bridge and has lost all but one of those.

Chelsea are also unbeaten in 11 meetings with Watford and while Sunderland have won two of their last six trips to west London, they don't look likely to repeat that.

Only West Brom, who had been unbeaten in four home games with Chelsea before losing to them last term, seem as though they could hold the leaders back if Everton can't.

Antonio Conte
Image: Antonio Conte needs four wins for the title and has three home games left - but his two remaining away games are at venues where Chelsea have struggled

Tottenham's own run-in is arguably tougher and they will have their own hurdles to overcome in time.

For now, they require a swing in their favour this weekend - and Everton look to be a side as capable as any of helping them on their way.

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