Frank Lampard goes into tonight’s game without a recognized centre-forward after Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury. Salomon Rondon is suspended for visiting former club Lampard, while Richarlison has been sold to Tottenham. Everton avoided relegation to the Championship on the penultimate day of last season after coming from two goals down to win at Crystal Palace. Dwight McNeil, James Tarkowski and Ruben Vinagre have strengthened Everton’s squad for the new season. But Lampard, who took over from the sacked Rafael Benitez in January, has warned his side must improve to avoid another relegation. “We have to work on every aspect of our game to make sure we’re not in a situation like last season,” said the 44-year-old. “It’s nice to have a relatively clean situation. I never felt we had that in my time at the club and that’s important because I hope it gives us a new idea and a feeling of confidence. “We’re all level, whereas at times last year we felt like we were chasing, especially if you’re five points from safety. That’s something we’ve overcome and that’s a testament to the squad of players we have, the club and the fans. “There are still things I want us to do going forward to try to get us to play more the way I want to play – to be more consistent in what we can deliver. “This will be a mixture of work on the training ground and the players we hope to strengthen the squad with. “We are working on and off the pitch and trying to improve the club in every possible way. There are a lot of good people at the club but we have to get the culture right and move forward. We have to keep that united feeling we have.” Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel was reluctant to set goals for Chelsea in the new season, saying they were still a club in transition following their takeover led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. “I don’t want to lower our ambitions. But I don’t want to put pressure on us,” Tuchel said. “We’re still a club in transition. A team in transition still. But at the same time, I don’t want to limit us from the start and say what’s possible.”
