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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 28
Chelsea v Everton
Stamford Bridge
London, England
Saturday, 18 March 2023
Kick-off is at 19h30
Chelsea will be looking to keep the momentum going in the
Premier League when they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, March 18.
The Blues beat Leicester 3-1 at the King Power Stadium last Saturday to register back-to-back wins for the first time since Graham Potter began his tenure with a 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace on October 1.
A 1-0 victory against Leeds on March 4 had arrested a five-match winless streak for Potter's side, who went two points clear of Aston Villa in 10th position.
The west Londoners closed with a point of Brentford (9th) and are just seven behind Newcastle (5th) in the race for European football.
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The Toffees breathed new life into their survival bid with a 1-0 win over the Bees at Goodison Park last Saturday to halt a three-match winless run.
Sean Dyche's team have lost just three of their last seven games since he replaced Frank Lampard at the helm on January 30 and the success against the Foxes lifted them up to 15th spot, one point clear of the relegation zone.
The Merseysiders are only one point adrift of Nottingham Forest (14th), and trail Wolves (13th) and Palace (12th) by a further point after all three clubs suffered defeats this past weekend.
Kai Havertz halted a six-game barren spell in front of goal when he restored Chelsea's lead against Leicester. It was the German's sixth goal of the season and he's two shy of equalling his tally of eight scored last season, which is his best haul in a Blues shirt.
Dwight McNeil scored his first goal under Dyche, who managed him for four seasons at Burnley. The 23-year-old winger was a regular starter for Dyche during their time together at Turf Moor and has featured in all seven games since being reunited with his former manager.
In team news, Potter continues to be without a whole host of first-team regulars as Armando Broja, Thiago Silva (both knee), Cesar Azpilicueta (head), Edouard Mendy (wrist), Mason Mount (groin) and N'Golo Kante (thigh) remain unavailable, while Reece James (illness), Raheem Sterling (thigh) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (back) are rated doubtful. Andros Townsend (knee) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh) miss out for the visitors.
Potter has seen a growing togetherness in his squad after a fine week, which brought two league wins as well as victory over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
"It's been a good week, a really good week. Three wins, started with a determined performance against Leeds, the result against Dortmund and then to back it up today is really impressive from the players because it isn't easy to do that in the Premier League," he said.
"It's been a team performance over the week. It takes a bit of time to develop that, but the spirit of the boys is developing, there's a growing togetherness that I really like. Everyone's supporting each other, fighting to play, ready to play."
Dyche is convinced that the Toffees are moving in the right direction after picking up 10 points from his first seven games at the helm.
"The resilience of the side is growing, the mentality is growing and sometimes you have got to fight against a side who are unbeaten in 12. We have delivered a performance that deserved three points," he said.
"We are building a mentality. It takes time but they are delivering. On the physical side of the game, make sure they are doing the hard yards."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Chelsea - 2
Everton - 2
Draws - 1
Matchday 28 fixtures:
Friday, March 17
22h00: Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
Saturday, March 18
17h00: Aston Villa v Bournemouth
17h00: Brentford v Leicester City
17h00: Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur
17h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United
19h30: Chelsea v Everton
Sunday, March 5
16h00: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
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