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Everton v West Ham: match preview

By Matt Townsend

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Phil Jagielka of Everton and Marko Arnautovic of West Ham United in action during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Everton at London Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Phil Jagielka of Everton and Marko Arnautovic of West Ham United in action during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Everton at London Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /
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So after the interlude of last weekend’s international break the Premier League returns and Everton take on West Ham United on Goodison Park.

This is an important game for Everton and is really a must-win match after the number of points the Blues have dropped recently.

The Hammers are enduring a nightmare start to the season and will certainly not be looking forward to a trip to Goodison to play a team against whom they have a poor recent record.

Even so Everton must take not take this game lightly and indeed given the number of players out injured the Blues are likely to struggle to score a lot of goals tomorrow.

The Toffees have only won one match so far this season, the home win over Southampton back in August. That has to change tomorrow afternoon.

Their opponents tomorrow started this season with renewed optimism, much like Everton. Just like the Blues they had a new manager and had spent considerable sums in the summer on improving their attacking quality.

But West Ham’s season has certainly not worked out as their fans would have hoped, so far. Four matches and four defeats have left the East London club bottom of the Premier League.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini is already under some pressure, which despite their struggles, seems a little ridiculous after just four games.

So they also really need to win tomorrow afternoon and this could well make it a very open, exciting game to watch.

Obviously West Ham’s biggest weakness is their defending and the goals they are conceding. The Hammers have conceded a joint-worst 10 goals in the League so far.

They have also faced a lot of shots per game at over 15 per match and this puts their defence under a lot of pressure.

In addition West Ham are also, like Everton, a highly penalised team. They have picked up a league-high 13 yellow cards already this term. Given that record and the Blues luck with officials, it seems very possible someone might get sent off tomorrow too.

But although these statistics indicate that West Ham are a vulnerable, very beatable side, in fact they have been competitive in most of these matches.

In particular in games against Bournemouth and Arsenal, they led and were well in the game before eventually losing.

What these games indicate is that West Ham start brightly and often get in front but have a tendency to concede from leading positions, especially late on in games.

So Everton need to be aware that their opponents may come out of the blocks very quickly in Sunday’s game. And in attack the Hammers have actually been pretty good this season. They also have a threat in Marko Arnautovic.

The Austrian forward is a quality player with pace, movement and skill. He is a fine finisher too, although sometimes he’s a bit inconsistent.

As for the Blues, the biggest concern for tomorrow, (apart from the team’s weakness defending set-pieces), is the number of players unavailable.

Everton currently have a considerable injury and absentee list. Richarlison is still serving his suspension and although it looks as though new signing Bernard and Theo Walcott might be fit to play, Dominic Calvert-Lewin picked up an injury during the international break.

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In defence the Toffees have plenty of injuries. Everton are still missing Yerry Mina while Michael Keane, Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman are out as well. So the Blues will again not have a settled defence on the pitch come four pm on Sunday.

Despite the positive signs that have been seen from the team and the performances of players like Richarlison, it is really important the Blues get a fully fit squad as soon as possible. These injuries are becoming a major issue, which might undermine the hopes of a competitive season.

But as for tomorrow, hopefully Everton can restore some momentum and should have enough to secure a valuable three points.