Cucurella’s first two starts of the season came in the previous rounds of this competition and it would be no exaggeration to say his performance against his former club, Brighton, in the third round had a transformative impact on his campaign. He excelled out of position at right-back that evening and has started every game since, but it’s his high-octane energy that really captures the attention.

‘A lot of people ask me about this!’ he explains in the interview. ‘I don’t know. I don’t train this aspect, I just have this intensity in me. It’s part of me. My family say, at home, “You never stop!” because for me it’s hard to just stay on the sofa, I have to move.

‘I have a lot of energy, and sometimes I can bring this energy to the team. It’s very important to bring good feeling to the team, because if we have a good atmosphere outside of the pitch, then you will do your best and fight for your team-mates, and I think this is one of the most important things in football.’

Graeme Le Saux was known for his bustling intensity at full-back during his time with both Chelsea and Blackburn, where he won the Premier League between two spells at Stamford Bridge. In an open interview, he reflects on a moment of high emotion that led to his departure from SW6 the first time around and his return during the exciting days of the late nineties.

‘I was so excited about everything,’ he says. ‘If I’d never have gone back to Chelsea, I’d have still always been grateful for the opportunity John Hollins gave me when I was 18. It was a hard, hard place, but I wouldn’t have thought that was a bad time. There might have been some bad experiences during that first period, but there’s no point saying, “Oh, if only that didn’t happen.” It did happen, but I made the most of it.

‘When I went back, I got to continue that journey with a group of people I bonded with more than any other players in my career. We’ve been through so much together and the bond will be there between us forever, because of what we shared on and off the pitch. It was just an amazing time. We’ve got families who are friends, grew up together.’

In addition to those exclusives, programme editor Richard Godden takes a look back at a 40-game unbeaten league run between October 2004 and November 2005 that began and ended with victories over Blackburn, plus a fiery match at Ewood Park in the midst of that run, which set us on the road to our first Premier League title.

You can also find all the info you need ahead of the match, plus columns from Mauricio Pochettino, Reece James, Emma Hayes, Mark Robinson and Hassan Sulaiman.

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