Everton Match Preview
No sooner has West Ham United’s March fixture programme got underway than it comes to an abrupt end today. They will be looking to bounce back from Monday’s home defeat to Newcastle United by seeing if they can get the better of a familiar face when they come up against David Moyes and his Everton side in one final match at Goodison Park.
I don’t suppose that many people thought that the former Hammers’ boss would have made a return to management so quickly after leaving Stratford at the end of last season. However, the fact is he does and he will want a reverse of the result that he managed here last season. He will hope that his side continue to go in the right direction, given that they have only lost once since he retook the reins. One factor that suggests the visitors may enjoy a repeat though is that Moyes has never beaten Graham Potter in seven previous attempts and the former Swansea City and Chelsea Head-Coach will hope that is still the case later this afternoon.
As this is the last game for both sides until April, neither will want to give an inch here, as adding to their points tally is the ultimate aim.
On January 9, Potter was confirmed as the Irons’ Head-Coach and later that day, news emerged that the new hierarchy in charge of the Toffees decided that they wanted a new manager, meaning that Sean Dyche was relieved of his duties. They moved quickly to seal a return for Moyes twelve years after he left Merseyside.
The East Londoners produced a real surprise in their last game on the road, as they beat Arsenal 1-0 on February 22 and they would love to emulate that.
Under Moyes, West Ham had a good record here as he achieved victory in three of his four visits but the Scotsman will hope that doesn’t happen on this occasion.
Should the East Londoners prevail, they will go above their opponents in the table.
The hosts have had slightly more time to prepare for this fixture, as Potter’s men were only in action five days ago. Having said that though, Moyes would hope to see a vast improvement on the performance his side turned in as they drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux last Saturday.
Julen Lopetegui was in charge of the Hammers when the two teams met back on November 9 and although the home side brought their run of conceding goals to an end, the majority inside the stadium that day still weren’t happy with the level of performance on show, as the game ended in a goalless draw.
The visitors are likely to make changes to their starting line-up for this match, as Lucas Paquetá made his first appearance against the Magpies since February 15, after recovering from an ankle injury and could start in midfield.
Vladimír Coufal wasn’t ready to return to action last time out but he will be assessed again here, while Potter revealed in his pre-match news conference on Thursday that striker Niclas Füllkrug is back in training with the first-team but is as yet not ready for a return to action.
The match is a 3pm kick-off and the referee is Darren Bond.