Monday Night Football sees Everton welcome a struggling West Ham side to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time and will look to continue their unbeaten start at their new home.
Going into the game all the headlines will be on West Ham due to the sacking of Head Coach Graham Potter on Saturday morning.
West Ham have started the season poorly, currently sitting in 19th place after five games. They have conceded the joint-most goals, 13, so Potter found himself under pressure quickly.
After big defeats to the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham, there were calls for Potter to be sacked, but the board reassured fans that he would be given time. However, after doing his press conference on Friday for Monday’s game, it came as a surprise when the club announced that he had been sacked on Saturday morning.
The East London club wasted no time in finding a replacement as former Wolves, Spurs and Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo was appointed the same day and will be in the dugout on Monday night.
As for Everton, they find themselves in 12th, but they are coming off the back of back-to-back defeats, most recently against Wolves in the Carabao Cup last week. Moyes’ side have been very good defensively so far this season, having only conceded five goals.
The likes of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye have all been key players for the Toffees this season, with Grealish picking up four assists in the opening five matches.
The last time these two sides met in the Premier League was toward the end of last season, with the game ending 1-1 thanks to Jake O’Brien’s last-minute equaliser for Everton. They did play against each other in the Premier League Summer Series pre-season tournament this summer. West Ham won 2-1.
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Team News
Everton
Everton will be without Jarrad Branthwaite and Merlin Röhl for their clash with the Hammers.
Branthwaite continues to be sidelined with a hamstring issue and Moyes was asked about the defenders’ condition and well as Röhl’s in his pre-match press conference.
“He’ll not be available for Monday, neither is Merlin. Both of them are out.”
The Scotsman was also questioned on when Branthwaite would return to training: “Not at the moment. We’re expecting him back shortly, but not yet.”
Moyes made seven changes when Everton faced Wolves in the Carabao Cup last week, so a lot of their key players will be fresh and ready to go.
After picking up a controversial yellow card in the Merseyside derby, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has to be careful as he is one yellow card away from suspension.
West Ham
With a change of management, it will be interesting to see who Nuno picks for his first starting lineup.
Confirmed by Potter on Thursday, West Ham will again be without Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who remains to be sidelined with ‘illness’. However, there has been speculation that the defender fell out with the former boss, but there has been no confirmation of this.
Tomáš Souček will again miss out through suspension after his straight red card against Spurs. He has already served one game after missing last weekends defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Hammers have struggled in the goalkeeping department this season, with new signing Mads Hermansen already finding himself dropped from the starting lineup after a run of poor performances. It remains to be seen who Nuno will choose in goal, with the likes of Hermansen, Alphonse Areola and Łukasz Fabiański all at his disposal.
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Likely Line-Ups
Everton
Pickford, O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Gana Gueye, Garner, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Beto.
West Ham
Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Fernandes, Magassa, Paquetá, Bowen, Summerville, Wilson.
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Key Players
Everton – Jack Grealish
There were some question marks on whether Grealish would perform at Everton, considering he hasn’t played regular football over the last few seasons, and when he did, he looked a shadow of the player that was bought for £100 million in 2021.
However, in the five Premier League games he’s played this season, Everton seemed to have got the best version of the England international. He has picked up four assists in those five games.
West Ham will need to defend well to contain Grealish, especially Walker-Peters, who will be tasked with going one-on-one with the 30-year-old. With him being so direct, there’s no doubt he’ll cause issues, which can already be seen, as he has been fouled 17 times already this season.
West Ham – Mateus Fernandes
Having joined West Ham for around £42 million, Fernandes needed to hit the ground running, especially with how poorly the Hammers have started the season, and he has done exactly that.
The 21-year-old made his debut in West Ham’s only win and impressed. He has the capabilities to both attack and defend, which has been clear to see. It’s been known that West Ham have struggled for legs in midfield, and Fernandes has come in and completely changed that.
In the games he’s featured in, Fernandes hasn’t stopped running. Defensively, he is very solid and isn’t afraid to put a challenge in, and when attacking, he is always looking forward rather than sideways or backwards.
If he is on his game on Monday night, Fernandes will definitely cause Everton’s midfield and attack issues. However, there is a question of his fitness, as he has been subbed off in the three games he’s featured.
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Match Details:
Where is the game being played?
The match will take place at the home of Everton, Hill Dickinson Stadium.
What time is kick-off?
The game begins at 20:00 GMT on Monday, 29th September 2025.
Where to watch?
The game will be televised on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR in the United Kingdom.
