Everton’s most triumphant moment of last season will, for many at least, be the comprehensive 3-0 victory over Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium when Beto turned into prime Romelu Lukaku and Iliman Ndiaye scored one of the Blues’ best goals of the campaign.

However, as evidenced by the fact that both of the heroes from that day have since moved on to pastures new, half a year is a long time in football, and the Toffees would do well not to rely on recent history when they take to the field at Saturday lunchtime.

Remarkably, there have only been thirteen league fixtures in between these two meetings, but it is night and day as far as the visitors are concerned.

A Sinking Ship Under Rosenior

Under Liam Rosenior – the ostensibly groovy and trendy, and objectively out of his depth, manager in charge of the London outfit – come the time of their trip to Merseyside they were a sinking ship. They had a man at the wheel who never knew what he was doing and players who were all too ready to desert until a new opportunity came about.

There was only one way they were heading under Rosenior, and that was down. Regardless of how well the hosts played that day – and they did, especially after taking the lead – it must be said that their opponents were there in body, but certainly not in spirit.

This won’t be the case on Saturday. While they still look a little naive at times under Xabi Alonso, it seems that Chelsea are only going to get better the more they get used to the intricacies of the Spaniard’s demanding system, and most crucially, the players all seem fully engaged in the project – whereas their countenance under Rosenior was more synonymous with school children when a supply teacher is in the room.

The Four Survivors, Transformed

Additionally, if we are to look at the team that Chelsea put out that day, it paints a very interesting picture. There are only four players from that side that started last weekend’s game against Bournemouth, with Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto the remaining survivors.

Now, all of those named are very good players on their day. Pedro and Palmer speak for themselves, especially in the current term, Caicedo is one of the league’s best enforcers and Neto can run a defence ragged when in the mood.

However, Pedro’s form had started to tail off a little under Rosenior, Palmer was having an injury-plagued season where he was miles off his best, Caicedo was part of a midfield that had no consistency and Neto was in one week and out the other in Chelsea winger roulette – the game where you have to guess which of Chelsea’s 324 wingers will be selected this week.

Under Alonso, things are much different. Pedro is the best striker in the league not named Erling Haaland, Palmer is back to his best as part of a deadly front three, Caicedo is fresh after addressing his injury woes and at least has a steadier figure alongside him in Jordan Henderson than the rotating cast of last season, and Neto is thriving as a wing-back in Alonso’s system.

Upgrades All Over the Pitch

Outside of this, Chelsea’s number ten that day was Enzo Fernandez, who was keeping the worst poker face ever in his desire to move onto a bigger club, while Robert Sanchez was in goal and put in a habitual shocker, as he should have easily kept out Beto’s second and the crucial, killer third goal.

If we are to compare this to the line-up that will likely be selected come kick-off at the weekend, Alonso’s men look in a far healthier place.

Morgan Rogers replaces the wantaway Fernandez as part of that aforementioned dazzling front three, while Henderson provides some much-needed leadership and experience in the middle of the park and is bang in form after last week’s heroics against the Cherries, with Caicedo making up for his lack of legs. It is not a midfield without its soft spots – but it is a world away from the disjointed, inconsistent unit of last season.

The incredibly gifted and experienced Emiliano Martinez comes in for the disastrous Sanchez in goal, while Maxence Lacroix is a proven Premier League performer and is growing with each game in a blue shirt at the heart of Alonso’s back three.

A Completely Different Beast

Whether it be the mood around the club, the improved spine of the team or the better form of the remaining players from last season’s fixture, Chelsea are a completely different beast this time around, and Everton simply cannot afford to use March’s success as a blueprint given how much has changed in the interim.