Everton vs West Ham United Preview: Blues looking to return to form against struggling Hammers

A preview of Everton's Sunday meeting with West Ham United.

Everton vs West Ham United Preview: Blues looking to return to form against struggling Hammers
Photo: BiloBlue - WikiMedia
connor-bennett
By Connor Bennett

Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon as Marco Silva’s side look to return to winning ways.

The Blues are looking to put a result back in the win column after not being able to convert their previous games into wins.

Silva’s side threw away a two-goal lead away at AFC Bournemouth before floundering against struggling Huddersfield Town last time out after going a goal behind.

They will be buoyed by their recent results against the Hammers at home - winning four of the side’s last six meetings on Merseyside.

Manuel Pellegrini’s team may have struggled to kick-start this campaign after a successful summer transfer window but will be dangerous opposition as they look for their first Premier League win of the season.

The Hammers have not won at Goodison since 2016 when a late Dimitri Payet goal saw Slaven Bilic’s side overturn a two-goal deficit to pick up a 3-2 win.

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Last Meeting: Rooney hat-trick secures points

The last time the two sides met at Goodison, a Wayne Rooney hat-trick propelled Everton to victory in interim boss David Unsworth’s final game in charge before handing over to Sam Allardyce.

It was a night in which former Blues boss David Moyes returned to Merseyside for the third time since leaving the club.

Rooney opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 20 minutes before doubling the Blues’ advantage less than ten minutes later with a smart finish from just inside the Hammers box.

Moyes’ side had a chance to cut into the host's advantage after the half-time break but Manuel Lanzini was denied as he saw his spot-kick expertly stopped by Jordan Pickford.

His and Everton’s third strike ended up being voted the club’s Goal of the Season as the forward lobbed a beaten Joe Hart from inside his own half as he met Hart’s clearance perfectly on the run.

Ashley Williams added a late-fourth goal as the win eased the Blues’ woes towards the bottom of the table as they moved up to 13th.

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A look at: West Ham United

Pellegrini’s side are winless so far this campaign and as a result, sit bottom of the table with zero points.

They have suffered defeats to Liverpool, AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal and Wolves but picked up their first win of the season in the Carabao Cup with victory over AFC Wimbledon.

It’s a similar story to what Everton went through last term.

The club have been regarding as having an uber-successful summer transfer window and have an experienced manager in place but it just hasn’t come together as of yet.

Silva’s side will be hoping that it doesn’t come together for the Hammers on Sunday.

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Team News and Predicted XI’s

Everton will be without Seamus Coleman for at least a week after the defender picked up a foot injury during international duty with the Republic of Ireland.

However, despite staring down an ever-growing injury list earlier in the week, Silva’s men will be buoyed by the return to fitness for a number of players.

Bernard is fit again after suffering a muscle injury away at Bournemouth. Dominic Calvert-Lewin exited England Under-21s game with Latvia during the break with a knock but is set to be available for Sunday.

Silva will, however, sweat on the fitness of key players Idrissa Gueye and Theo Walcott with the pair set for late fitness tests before the game.

Richarlison serves the final game of his three-game suspension as Phil Jagielka returns from his.

Unlike the Blues, the Hammers have a relatively clean bill of health outside of their long-standing injuries.

Javier Hernandez is a doubt as he battles with an illness.

They will definitely be without Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini and Winston Reid as they remained sidelined with long-term knee injuries. Jack Wilshere is also set to miss the game with an ankle injury.

Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Digne, Zouma, Holgate, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson, Lookman, Walcott, Tosun.

West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Cresswell, Balbuena, Diop, Noble, Sanchez, Snodgrass, Anderson, Yarmolenko, Arnautovic.

Match Day Stats

  1. Everton have never won a home Premier League game on September 16th.

  2. West Ham could win consecutive top-flight matches against Everton for the first time since the 1972-73 season.

  3. Theo Walcott has scored six goals against West Ham, his best figures against any Premier League team.

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About the author
Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14