Everton’s Tim Howard says Chelsea will ‘run away with’ the Prem title

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard said he expects Chelsea to “run away with” the Premier League title, though he doesn’t expect the Blues to remain undefeated until May.

Chelsea have won nine and drawn two in their first 11 games and already have a four-point lead over Southampton, and an eight-point advantage over third-place Manchester City.

Howard told ESPN FC on Thursday that he doesn’t foresee any team catching Jose Mourinho’s men for the title.

“Man, they’re like a buzzsaw,” Howard said. “I think they are going to run away with it. Do I think they’ll go undefeated? No, but they’ll go mighty close.

“They’re just strong front to back, like I’ve almost never seen before, quite nearly flawless. But credit to them, Jose Mourinho came in last year and continued to build and build and build, and this is what it was for. It was for the team that he puts out right now.”

Howard also said that he believes the start of the current Premier League season, which sees the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Swansea in the top five, is unlike any he can remember.

Tim Howard and Everton were at the hands of a 6-3 thrashing by Chelsea in August.

Everton sit 10th in the table through 11 games, and Howard remains confident that the Toffees can move up in the games to come.

“I think we got off to a slow start, but this season seems to be so crazy compared to the other ones,” Howard said. “Everton’s a good team, we’ve got a really good squad of talented, talented players.

“We’re going to be OK. We play a great brand of football. We’re a tough match for any team so I’m not worried about us at all.”

Howard dismissed questions that Everton’s extra games in the Europa League this season have contributed to a slower start in the Premier League.

“Our manager Roberto Martinez has a great plan in terms of how he feels he wants to rotate the team,” Howard said. “We’re on top of the group in Europe, so we look forward to those games.

“Of course it’s tough on the squad. You have to look after yourself a little more in terms of physically and getting a lot of rest because you’re playing Thursday-Sunday, but we’ve not found it as a distraction at all.

“That’s a simple excuse a lot of clubs use. Not for us, though.”

Everton return from the international break with a game against West Ham at Goodison Park on Friday, and Howard said the Toffees “would like to always fancy our chances at home,” despite praising the Hammers’ recent run of form.

“Hats off to West Ham, they’ve had a brilliant start,” Howard said. “Certainly, a little bit unexpected, but they’re there on merit. They’ve played really good football this year.

“They’ve been tough, they’ve put it to opponents. They’ve scored goals and they’ve been resilient at the back, which is the recipe for winning games. But they’ll be on our patch and we’re going to try to make them suffer a little bit.”