A fun side-plot for Chelsea’s clash against Everton this afternoon is the return of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella previewed Saturday’s action, and made sure to give a mention to his old teammate.
The main focus in the buildup has been on the need for Chelsea to get a good result and break out of their current rough patch, but the Everton star has been getting plenty of mentions as well.
Enzo Maresca discussed Dewsbury-Hall’s Chelsea departure, and claimed he expected the fine form we are currently seeing from the 27-year-old — Cucurella followed suit.
David Moyes reckons KDH just needed the right situation 👀
Were Chelsea right to move him on last summer?
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Everton – 2025/26
Games: 14
Goals: 4
Assists: 2
Marc Cucurella seeing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as an opponent
Players spend all day every day together and it’s understandable that close bonds would be formed as a result.
Cucurella had that with the now-Everton star, though he is pushing that to the back of his mind.
As seen on the Chelsea website, he said: “I am very happy for him, although hopefully he plays badly against us! But no, I am very happy for him because he is a very good team-mate.
“Last season he was always with a smile, he is a very good person and he probably didn’t play as much as he [felt he] deserved or what he expected but he always stayed with a smile and when he had minutes, he played really well and tried his best so I am really happy for him.”
Dewsbury-Hall has endeared himself to Everton fans quickly with some brilliant displays and impressive output in terms of goals and assists.
Cucurella has nothing but good things to say about Dewsbury-Hall, but he will shut that out for 90 minutes as Chelsea seek a vital win.
Cucurella says Everton is one of the most important games of the season
It’s a surprise claim from the Spaniard given some of the fixtures Chelsea have had in recent weeks, but he thinks this clash with Everton is majorly significant.
As he puts it: “It is very important [for us to get back to winning ways]. For me, this is one of the most important games of the season because we played really well before the last two weeks and then we have struggled to win these last two weeks.
‘We will be playing at home, we need these three points and we want to stay up there [near the top of the table] again so I think it is a very important game.”
Matchday is upon us ⏳️
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We’re quite a ways into the campaign, but the table is still so compact that every result has the potential for a dramatic swing in the standings.
From that, Chelsea have dropped from second to fifth after a couple of wasted opportunities for points.
It mightn’t be the most difficult match the Blues will play this season — Everton will certainly pose a challenge — but it’s a crucial one given the wider context of the Premier League.
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