West Ham United vs Everton
Date: 30/03/2019
K/O: 17:30
Venue: London Stadium
Referee: Paul Tierney
Everton travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United this weekend in search of their first victory in London since 2007. Marco Silva will be hoping to use the Toffees 2-0 win against Chelsea last weekend as a platform to push them into the top ten and end the season on a high.
West Ham are on a decent run of form at the moment though and will be difficult to beat. The Hammers were victorious against Huddersfield Town in a 4-3 classic last time out and at home, they have not lost this calendar year, including winning their last three games in a row. The last time they won four in a row at home was in 2002 under Glen Roeder, at Upton Park.
West Ham ran out 3-1 winners when the two sides met earlier this season and Everton will be hoping for revenge which will see them leapfrog their hosts in the table into the top ten in the league.
Team news
Manuel Pellegrini will be happy to see no players pick up knocks while on international duty these past few weeks. Especially, as West Ham star Declan Rice was away making his debut for England – in which he impressed in the defensive-midfield role.
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Controversial figure Marko Arnautovic returned to form for Austria, as he scored two goals in their defeat to Israel. The target man has struggled for form since his failed move to the Chinese Super League and this has seen him drop in the pecking order behind Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. The Mexican has shown that he is worthy of a starting berth at West Ham as he came off the bench to score the equaliser and winner against Huddersfield last time out. Hernandez also continued his good form for Mexico and scored in their 4-2 victory against Paraguay.
Pellegrini will also be boosted by the return of Jack Wilshere to full training, the Englishman has been absent for most of the season and only made five appearances in the league since signing for the Hammers. Wilshere will be hoping to make an evident impact in the side before the end of the season to justify his place in East London.
Pellegrini could make a change to the West Ham defence, as Angelo Ogbonna was found struggling defensively against Huddersfield on a couple of occasions. This change would see Fabian Balbuena return to the squad – the Paraguayan has been absent from the team since his injury in December.
Marco Silva will be without defender Yerry Mina for the trip against West Ham, the Columbian strained his hamstring on international duty against South Korea. This injury will mean that Kurt Zouma, who missed the game against Chelsea due to illegibility, will be thrusted back into the starting XI.
Lucas Digne will likely miss the match after he withdrew from international duty with a thigh strain. Digne could be joined by Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes after he limped off against Chelsea, this injury caused him to miss the entirety of the international break.
Predicted starting XIs
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Zabaleta, Diop, Balbuena, Cresswell; Noble, Rice; Anderson, Lanzini, Antonio; Hernandez
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Coleman, Zouma, Keane, Kenny; Gueye, Davies; Richarlison, Sigurosson, Bernard; Calvert-Lewin
Score Prediction: West Ham United 2 Everton 1
Both West Ham and Everton still have a chance of claiming 7th place in the Premier League, however, both will need strong finishes to the season to overhaul Wolves and Watford. The Hammers will have the advantage this weekend as their home form recently has been brilliant. West Ham have also been able to get results from falling behind as shown in their game against Huddersfield – they have in fact recovered the most points from losing positions this season (15) which will fill them with confidence going into this fixture.
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West Ham should have too much for an Everton side who have struggled on the road recently. Last time the Toffees were away from home they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose the game to Newcastle United.
