Everton Match Preview

After beating Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday night, West Ham United have the chance to complete their seventh double of the season this afternoon when they face Everton in Stratford.

They may not have faced each other too many times over the years but David Moyes is yet to lose to a side managed by Carlo Ancelotti and with the Hammers looking to climb back into the top four, he will want that record to continue. When this fixture was last played in January 2020, it ended with Ancelotti’s team scoring a late leveller to earn a point in a 1-1 draw.

This will be the third time that these two sides have met this campaign and the hosts will hope to achieve their first ever Premier League double over the Toffees after scoring a late winner on New Year’s Day.

Everton have a busy week ahead of them as after this game, they then face a trip to Aston Villa on Thursday night. Having said that, they go into this match having had two extra days than their opponents to prepare after they were defeated 2-1 at home to Dean Smith’s side last Saturday.

Declan Rice underwent a fitness test to see if he could be involved against the Clarets but having not come through it, Moyes hinted in his pre-match news conference on Friday that a late decision will be made on whether he will be involved here.

Aaron Cresswell started the match on Monday night as he returned to the starting line-up after injury to replace Angelo Ogbonna and the Italian remains out of contention for this game, as he continues to recover from a thigh problem.

Mark Noble was also missing on Monday night after sustaining a calf injury in training. If he doesn’t make it, then either Manuel Lanzini or Saïd Benrahma will retain their place. Meanwhile, should Jarrod Bowen feature, he will be making his 50th appearance for the club since joining from Hull City in January 2020.

The match is a 4:30pm kick-off with live coverage being screened by Sky Sports from 4pm. The referee is Stuart Attwell.