The international break is finally over, and West Ham are set to welcome relegation-threatened Everton to London Stadium in an attempt to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
The Hammers were defeated by Tottenham before international duty took charge, but could be forgiven due to their memorable second-leg Europa League victory over Sevilla just three days earlier.
West Ham have only defeated Everton once at London Stadium since moving in 2016 – David Moyes’ final game in charge of his first stint thanks to a 3-1 score line.
The two clubs were both flying high when David Moyes’ men beat the Toffees in this season’s reverse fixture at Goodison Park courtesy of an Angelo Ogbonna header, but have taken different paths since that early season clash.
Both West Ham and Everton are in need of maximum points from this match but for highly different reasons, as the Hammers look to have one last push to get them back into the top four race, whilst Frank Lampard’s side are solely focusing on Premier League survival.
But what do the Green Street Hammers staff believe the outcome will be; can the Irons pick up three points or will Everton frustrate?
Alex: West Ham 1-0 Everton
It’s always good to have West Ham back after the international break and the importance of this game shouldn’t be underestimated just because we play Lyon on Thursday night.
The Hammers still need to secure either Europa (hopefully) or Conference League football for next season with Wolves hot on our heels. Everton will be desperate for a win to help their survival hopes but I predict we will just about have too much for them.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea struggled with the defending of set pieces and Everton have too so far during his reign so I’m sure David Moyes will be planning to use our strength in that area to get one over his former club.
Moyes seemingly doesn’t know the meaning of squad rotation but I’d like to see ex-Evertonian Nikola Vlasic given some minutes with the extra motivation to prove that they were wrong in selling him and the game Lyon in mind.
Mia: West Ham 3-0 Everton
Coming back after the international break is notorious for causing problems at West Ham. It always feels like it takes a few games to pick up the form we were in before the break. However, there is no better team to pick this form up against than Everton.
Whilst struggling, this Everton team, coming to the London Stadium, could be absolutely rolled over. After our win against Sevilla, it’s hard to think we will let the relegation-battling Blues take anything from us. But, tired legs from our international players may show during the game – it may not be a technical masterpiece (but we’re used to that as Hammers fans…). Personally, I’ll be unhappy with anything but a win on Sunday. These are vital points in our bid to push up the league.
Lou: West Ham 1-0 Everton
I think that the international break came at the perfect time as us as it gave our squad to refresh both physically and mentally in time for the final stretch of the season in the league and also in Europe.
Everton have been abysmal away from home all season, and it has been no better since Frank Lampard took the reigns at Goodison. We have been generally solid at home, but have been prone to a few unexpected defeats throughout the season, so we must remain wary and not be complacent.
I don’t think it will be a masterclass of any sort, but a victory and a clean sheet would be nice.