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Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes Sean Dyche's side can take lessons from the manner of Sheffield United's 2-2 draw with Chelsea, with the Blues set to face the Londoners next week.

The Blades equalised deep into stoppage time to earn a point, and Ball believes Everton can capitalise on Chelsea's fragility.

"We’ve got a tough match against Chelsea coming up. They’re hit and miss and have let a couple of games slip so we have to maintain the belief to keep going," he wrote in his Liverpool ECHO column.

"Chelsea have got a talented squad but they’re young and still developing themselves. They can win games quite easily with the ability they have in their squad but they’re fragile and we’ve got to try and make the most of that.

"They’ve spent a huge amount of money and have produced some impressive performances against top teams and because of the amount of youth in the team, they have lacked game management at times. They have the chance to get into a second cup final this season and a place in Europe so their season is still well and truly alive but we know there are frailties there.

"The manager is under a bit of pressure and the players aren’t always performing to the levels of the fans’ expectations. Can we use that to our advantage to make their atmosphere turn toxic and nervy and feed off that energy?

"We know it’s going to be difficult but Dyche and the players seem like playing away and how they set-up seems to suit playing away from home. Sometimes we’ve dropped our heads when we’ve conceded a goal but seeing what Sheffield United did against them should give us belief, if they can take points off them then so should we."

Earlier in his piece, Ball expressed his delight to see Dominic Calvert-Lewin return to form with goals in back-to-back games. 

The 44-year-old believes the forward has shown immense character to remain positive during this difficult spell and has backed him to finish the season strongly in Royal Blue.

"You could see the pain that Dom had been going through when he spoke in his interview after the Newcastle United game. He showed the bravery to take the penalty and put it in the back of the net and he’s taking accountability," he wrote.

"I thought his performance against Burnley was good considering the poor service that he was receiving. When he was involved, he was doing what he could.

"He’s been unfortunate with the two goals against Tottenham Hotspur being taken off him which has been a hammer blow because everyone was talking about the long run he had without scoring. It seemed to go on forever for fans so you can only imagine what it was like for Dom himself, hearing it every day.

"He’s had a good week now with two goals in two matches so hopefully he can start showing the kind of form he produced before his injury problems.

"He’s our number nine, our linchpin, our key player to get us out of tough moments like he did against Crystal Palace a couple of years ago with an unbelievable diving header – not enough people talk about what a good goal that was with his ability to get his head on that.

"Dom can now start believing in himself a bit more and maybe Dyche might believe enough to play someone a bit closer to him to help unlock defences."

There was also reaction from the media following the Club's two-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules.

Former Everton winger Andros Townsend criticised the inconsistency of punishment for both Everton and Nottingham Forest.

"We don't know what's going to happen with appeals," the Luton Town player told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"We (Luton Town squad) were probably celebrating when Everton got 10 points taken off them and then they got four given back and we're back in the relegation zone. So we take out the deductions to take away the confusion and we'll see at the end of the season.

"I think it makes a mockery of the Premier League. When you announce the charge, you have to be certain of the points deduction."

The BBC's Football finance expert, Kieran Maguire also criticised the process.

"The reduction in points from five to two is fair because Everton have already been punished for breaking the rules in 2021 and 2022 with respect to the first deduction.

"There's a separate issue about why has it taken the Premier League so long to charge Everton with regards to the first set of offences. Why wasn't that held in the previous season, but that opens up a further can of worms.

"The frightening thought is that we could reach the end of the season and we still don't know who's relegated.

"The Premier League wanted 10 points deducted from Everton the first time round, eight points from Forest and five points from Everton the second time round and you look at that and there is no consistency."