Kepa sends Chelsea squad ‘big’ message ahead of crucial West Ham & Dortmund fixtures

Kepa Arrizabalaga has sent the Chelsea squad a message ahead of their upcoming crucial clashes against both West Ham United and Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea currently sit ninth in the Premier League table in what has been an extremely disappointing season but there are still important games to come.

The Blues are ten points adrift of the top four spots, should they want to be playing Champions League football again next season they will need a dramatic improvement.

After a rocky run both sides of the World Cup break in Qatar, which at one point saw Graham Potter’s men win just once in eight in all competitions, the west London outfit look to have found some more stable form.

In the last three games, the Blues are unbeaten and have not conceded a single goal. They defeated Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and played out two 0-0 draws against Liverpool and Fulham respectively.

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One of the main factors that has seen Chelsea not concede, has been the performances of Kepa.

Under head coach Potter, the Spaniard has become the favoured choice in net for the Blues, moving up in the pecking order ahead of Edouard Mendy who had a difficult start to the season.

If Chelsea are to continue and improve upon their recent form, Kepa maintaining this level of performance will be vital.

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Speaking to the official Chelsea website, the 28-year-old touched upon their most recent fixture against their west London rivals. He said: “It was not an easy game, a lot of new players is not an excuse, we have to win, we need wins, because we are mid-table.

“We are working on that, we are knowing each other, it’s time to do it quick because we are in the middle of the season. Hopefully the new guys can help us, we can be a strong team and win a lot of games until the final of the season.”

In the early kick-off on Saturday the Blues face a trip to take on West Ham at the London Stadium, then in midweek they travel to Germany for an away tie in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.

It is going to be a tough week, but an exciting one, and Kepa is up for the challenge: “We can’t wait to be back in the Champions League.

“It’s a big game against West Ham, we’ll go there for a win, for three points because we need it.”