Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways and end a run of four games without a victory when they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Premier League football resumes this weekend with Gameweek 16 of the 2025/26 season. The action on Saturday will start with two simultaneous fixtures, including Chelsea vs Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s excellent run has come to a grinding halt in the last few weeks, and talk of a title tilt has disappeared. The Blues are on a four-match winless run, including a shock 3-1 defeat to Leeds United. The latest setback came in the UEFA Champions League, as Atalanta clinched a narrow 2-1 victory. Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca’s men have fallen to fifth in the Premier League standings after three games without a win.
On the other hand, David Moyes’s Everton renaissance has continued this term, and the Toffees have stepped up in recent weeks. The visitors have won four of their last five Premier League games, rising to seventh on the table. A victory on Saturday can help the Merseyside outfit end Gameweek 16 in the top four if other results in the latest round of fixtures are favourable.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 1-0 win for Chelsea, with Nicolas Jackson scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has new roster issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea manager may be bereft of the services of as many as seven first-team players vs Everton on Saturday.
Moises Caicedo will complete his suspension after being sent off against Arsenal a few games ago. Meanwhile, Maresca is sweating over Wesley Fofana’s fitness after the Frenchman picked up an eye injury earlier this week against Atalanta.
However, Maresca is hopeful that Fofana will be fit and available to take on Everton, meaning Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo (hamstring), Romeo Lavia (thigh), and Liam Delap (shoulder) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Mudryk continues his suspension after failing a doping test several months ago.
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Everton on Saturday. The backline will feature Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella. Chalobah’s penchant for regular contributions in the final third makes him a transfer recommendation in FPL.
As for the midfield unit, Andrey Santos will line up alongside Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot, with Cole Palmer reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for Chelsea against Everton, with Alejandro Garnacho and Estevao Willian being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Santos, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
Everton
Unlike his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, David Moyes has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Everton manager may be without only three first-team players on Saturday.
Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam are available after serving their suspensions. While Moyes has been sweating over Thierno Barry’s fitness, the former Villarreal striker should be fit. However, Seamus Coleman (thigh), Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring), and Merlin Rohl (hernia) remain in the treatment room.
Jordan Pickford will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Saturday. The backline will feature Jake O’Brien, Michael Kean, James Tarkowski, and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past James Garner and Idrissa Gueye in the double pivot. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will reprise the no. 10 role, with Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish being the two wide attackers. Finally, Thierno Barry will spearhead the Everton attack against Chelsea on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; Barry
Key Stats
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 30 Premier League home games vs Everton (W17 D13). That is their longest streak without a defeat at home against an opponent in their league history, while only at Leeds United have the Toffees had a longer run without a win (36 from 1953 to 2001). Everton have failed to score in 27 Premier League games against Chelsea, including the three most recent clashes. Only against Manchester United and Liverpool (28 each) have they drawn a blank more often.
Chelsea are winless in their last three Premier League matches (D2 L1), having won five of their previous six games (L1). The West London club’s only longer winless run under Enzo Maresca came between December 2024 and January 2025 (five games).
Everton have won four of their last five Premier League matches, keeping a clean sheet in each victory. Since David Moyes’s first game back in charge on 15 January this year, only Manchester City (13), Arsenal (13) and Chelsea (11) have more Premier League victories without conceding than the Toffees (10).
Everton have won their last two away Premier League matches, most recently having a longer winning run on the road between October and December in 2023 (four). Their last two away wins have both been 1-0. The Toffees have not won three on the trot without conceding since December 2008.
Chelsea have dropped more points from winning positions in Premier League home games than any other side this season (8), drawing 1-1 with Arsenal, having scored first last time out. It is already one more point than they dropped at home, having led compared to the whole of last season (7).
Player to Watch
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
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While Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, and Jack Grealish were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge.
The former Chelsea midfielder is Everton’s joint leading Premier League scorer this season with four goals. He has netted three times in his last four games, as many as he had scored in his previous 62 combined for Leicester City, Chelsea, and the Toffees.
With Dewsbury-Hall in such delightful form, it is hardly surprising that he is one of our budget buy recommendations in FPL for Gameweek 16. Meanwhile, the Englishman will be eager to make a point when he faces his former side, having failed to receive sufficient opportunities at Chelsea.
Prediction
Chelsea 2-2 Everton
Everton may feel another “Big Six” club will be there for the taking this weekend, only a few days after clinching a shock 1-0 win over Manchester United. Meanwhile, David Moyes will reckon he can finally secure an away win over Chelsea.
The Scottish tactician is winless in all 20 Premier League away games against Chelsea (D7 L13), having only faced Liverpool on the road more often without a win (21). However, Moyes ended Everton’s only other 30+ game winless away run against an opponent by beating Leeds United 1-0 in November 2002.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways, as the hosts have struggled immediately after an impressive result against Arsenal. However, with the defensive unit struggling to remain consistent, Everton will exploit the weaknesses and take at least one point from Saturday’s game. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw for the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.