Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has said Everton are "built for Europe" ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with his former club Chelsea.

Everton sit eighth in the standings ahead of the weekend's games, and a win over the Blues would see them move into seventh, with Brentford not in action until later in the day.

In fact, an Everton victory would take them to within two points of Chelsea, who sit sixth.

While a top-seven finish would guarantee European qualification, eighth place may also be enough to do so, depending on the outcome of the FA Cup.

And Dewsbury-Hall, who joined Everton from Chelsea last year, says the Toffees are a club that should be playing continental football, having not done so since 2017-18.

He told Opta Analyst: "It would mean an awful lot [qualifying for Europe].

"I've spoken to a lot of players who have been here for many years, and since the summer when I signed, I've seen the fans, the fanbase and the atmosphere. It is a club that's built for Europe.

"It's about us now taking that responsibility and saying: the stepping stones are there, it's about taking it on."

Opta's predictive model hands Everton, who fell to a dramatic 2-0 defeat to Arsenal last time out, despite creating some big chances against the league leaders, a 32.3% chance of finishing in the top eight.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are on a run of three straight defeats. They lost to Newcastle United last time out in the top flight, in between going down 5-2 and 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

"It's disappointing for everyone," said Moises Caicedo.

"Of course, we know PSG are a very tough opponent. We tried to show our best, but they are the current champions of the competition. We did our best but we didn't get what we wanted."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Everton - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Dewsbury-Hall has been a star man for Everton, and leads their squad for league goal involvements (nine - six goals, three assists), while only two of his team-mates rank above him for chances created (27) and expected assists (4.1).

He played just 8% of possible Premier League minutes for Chelsea last term, but he has been involved in 71% of Everton's league minutes this season.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is enjoying his most impactful Premier League season, justifying his decision to leave Chelsea for Everton in the summer.

With eight matches still to play in 2025-26, the midfielder has already scored double the number of goals (6) than he’d managed in… pic.twitter.com/BpHmB8SoSa

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) March 17, 2026

Chelsea - Joao Pedro

Joao Pedro has been involved in eight goals in his last eight appearances away from home in all competitions (seven goals, one assist).

His 11 away goals in total in all competitions this season is the most by a Chelsea player in a campaign since 2019-20 (Tammy Abraham, 12).

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Following their 2-0 win in December, Chelsea are looking to complete the league double over Everton for the first time since 2016-17.

Everton, though, have lost just one of their last eight Premier League home games against Chelsea (W5 D2), going down 1-0 in August 2022.

After a 2-0 win against Burnley at the start of March, Everton are looking to win consecutive league games at Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time.

This is the latest into a Premier League campaign they have not won consecutive home games since 2014-15 (April).

Chelsea have lost two of their last three Premier League games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (W5 D6).

Having kept a clean sheet in their first league game under Liam Rosenior (2-0 v Brentford), the Blues have now conceded in each of their last eight.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Everton - 33.4%

Draw - 25.7%

Chelsea - 40.9%