DAVID MOYES CONFIRMS KEANE, ALCARAZ, AND DEWSBURY-HALL INJURY STATUS FOR BRENTFORD MATCH
David Moyes provides an injury update as Everton faces Brentford. Read about the Harrison Armstrong recall and Keane's fitness.
Here’s the latest on Everton as they get ready to face Brentford at Hill Dickinson Stadium this Sunday.
David Moyes gave an injury update before the match. Everton want to start 2026 on a high, especially after their solid 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest. That game wasn’t easy—the squad was pretty stretched, but they pulled through, with James Garner and Thierno Barry both finding the net.
Charly Alcaraz and Michael Keane missed out at the City Ground. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is still dealing with a hamstring injury from the Chelsea game last month and hasn’t recovered yet.
Moyes said Keane has a shot at making the squad for Brentford, but Dewsbury-Hall and Alcaraz are still out. “Michael Keane has got a chance. But I would say the others don’t have a chance,” was how Moyes put it.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman are both sidelined with hamstring injuries. Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye are away with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations.
With numbers thin, Everton called Harrison Armstrong back from his loan at Preston North End. The 18-year-old has impressed there, scoring once and picking up three assists in 18 matches for a team chasing promotion.
Moyes says he’d actually like to send Armstrong back to Preston once more players return — but if the teenager impresses, things could change. “There’s an opportunity if we bring him back and he does well. But the truth is, I want him to go back. I want Preston to get promoted. It’s my old club;—but I played and managed there. They’re pushing for the playoffs, and it’s been great for them. I’ve watched him quite a bit at Preston, and he’s doing well. If I can, I’ll send him back because it’s good for his development. But right now, we need him—and if he takes his chance, we’ll keep him around.”
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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