Date: Saturday 21st
March 2026
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Tonight,
we venture for the very first time to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, where we’ll
be squaring up to Everton.
We beat Everton at
Stamford Bridge in December, winning 2-0, but doing the double over The Toffees
has been rarer than a sunny Bank Holiday – not since 2016/17, in fact.
Chelsea
have shuffled their starting XI like a dodgy magician at a children’s party –
96 changes in the league so far, which is more than the whole of last season
already. Rosenior’s still scratching his head, possibly wondering if anyone’s
got the instructions for assembling a decent defence. Unsurprisingly, our back
line has been leakier than a colander, conceding in the last eight league games
and losing the last three across all competitions.
We’ve only managed to
win four out of our last eleven games, so not exactly champagne football, more
like flat lemonade. Our latest league outing was a thrilling 1-0 loss to
Newcastle, which was about as exciting as watching paint dry. But hey, we might
have preferred dull if we’d known what was coming: a Champions League humiliation
from PSG so bad their defenders were practically doing the conga, and Rosenior
was busy passing notes like a schoolboy at 8-2 down. Motivation? Well, let’s
just say it was about as inspiring as Harold Shipman at a pro-life rally.
Everton, meanwhile,
were less than helpful for the rest of the league, failing to do anyone any
favours against Arsenal. After wins against Newcastle and Burnley, they proved
their generosity by conceding two late goals to the league leaders. They had
one job!
We’ve got a horror show
of fixtures coming up, injuries piling up like dirty laundry, and dropping more
points could see us waving goodbye to Europe quicker than you can say
“RyanAir”. With morale at rock bottom after the last two games, turning this
pig’s ear of a season into a silk purse might take more magic than Dynamo. So, the
mid-table mediocrity Eghbali and his mates seem so happy to accept, might well
be what’s on the cards for us.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
today’s game, Everton manager, David Moyes, says “They’re a little bit
wounded, so we have to be ready for them coming to our place. Undoubtedly a
talented group of players.”
Liam
Rosenior meanwhile, says “Every manager goes through difficult weeks. I’ve
had challenging periods before. I’ve lost games in many jobs, like all managers
have done. We need to find a way to fight at Everton and come through a
difficult period. You want to be in the Champions League. It makes everything
clearer, not just from a financial point of view. This club deserves to be in
the Champions League. That’s the target.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Everton, Jack Grealish (foot)
and Carlos Alcaraz (unspecified), are injured, whilst Tyrique George is
ineligible to face us. Moyes is said to be hopeful over James Tarkowski (unspecified)
and Jarrad Branthwaite (thigh) availability.
For Chelsea, Levi Colwill (ACL), Trevoh Chalobah (ankle), Reece James
(hamstring), Filip Jorgensen (groin) are all injured. Malo Gusto, Benoit
Badiashile (both illness) and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (hamstring) will all be
assessed.
TEAMS
EVERTON
(Possible line-up): Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski,
Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry
CHELSEA
(Possible line-up): Sanchez; Acheampong, Sarr, Fofana,
Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro
LAST SEASON
Everton 0-0 Chelsea (22nd
December 2024)
CURRENT FORM (PL)
EVERTON: WLLWWL
CHELSEA: WDDLWL
OTHER STUFF
- Everton
have lost just one of their last eight Premier League home games against
Chelsea
- Chelsea
won the reverse fixture 2-0 in December.
- Everton have failed to score in 12 of
their last 19 Premier League games against Chelsea, including each of the last
four in a row.
- Chelsea have lost two of their last three
Premier League games
- Everton are looking to win consecutive
Premier League games at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time.
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Everton 1-1 Chelsea
