Venue: Boleyn Ground
Date: 07/11/2015
Kick-off: 15:00 (BST)
Match
Everton made an emphatic return to winning ways with a fine 6-2 victory over Sunderland at Goodison Park last weekend and the result has certainly filled the Toffees with confidence once again.
While no one can doubt the fact that Everton delivered one of the performances of the season last weekend, teams in the Premier League cannot afford to rest on their laurels for too long due to the competitive nature of the English top flight and the Toffees will surely need to produce their best once again when they square off against high flying West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground this weekend.
Everton Team News
Everton manager Roberto Martinez is still without the services of the likes of Steven Pienaar, Phil Jagielka and Tony Hibbert while Bryan Oviedo, Leighton Baines, Muhamed Besic and Tom Cleverley are not fit as of yet to make a competitive start.
As a result, there is a strong possibility that Martinez will go with a similar lineup which started against Sunderland for the encounter with West Ham United as well.
Kone was the star for Everton against Sunderland
Tim Howard will be the man starting in goal while the backline should consist of John Stones, Ramiro Funes Mori, Brendan Galloway and Seamus Coleman.
In midfield, the impressive duo of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy will be starting while the attacking positions is once again likely to be occupied by Gerard Deulofeu, Ross Barkley and three goal hero Arouna Kone.
Romelu Lukaku has been in sensational form in recent weeks and the Belgian international will be leading the line for Everton once again.
Probable Lineups
West Ham United (Probable XI): Adrian; Cresswell, Reid, Tomkins, Jenkinson; Noble, Kouyate, Moses, Payet, Lanzini; Carroll
Everton (Probable XI): Howard; Galloway, Funes Mori, Stones, Coleman; McCarthy, Barry, Deulofeu, Barkley, Kone; Lukaku
Last Meeting
16/05/2015 West Ham United 1 – 2 Everton
13/01/2015 [PS] West Ham United 1 – 1 Everton
06/01/2015 Everton 1 – 1 West Ham United
22/11/2014 Everton 2 – 1 West Ham United
Prediction
Everton enjoy a stunning record over West Ham United, having not suffered a single defeat against the Hammers in their last 17 consecutive encounters.
Therefore, one might be obliged to state that Everton are the favourites heading into this weekend’s fixture as well.
However, West Ham United are a completely different animal under Slaven Bilic this season and they have proven so with some stunning performances so far.
Consequently, it is very difficult to pick out a clear winner ahead of the clash and the game is certainly up for the taking for both sides.
One thing is for sure though, the match will be an entertaining affair between two attacking outfits and a score draw seems the most likely result at the moment.
West Ham United 1 – 1 Everton
