Everton vs West Ham preview, details, stats, team news, line-ups and prediction

West Ham United travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Premier League matchday 27, as they look to build momentum from their impressive victory over Brentford last Monday.

Both teams will be entering this matchup at ease of excessive pressure as they’ve had cause to celebrate in the past few days.

While West Ham are basking in the euphoria of their maiden Premier League victory over London rivals, Brentford, Everton’s cause for celebration comes from an off-pitch issue as their relegation hopes received a boost following Premier League’s point reduction dropped to six points from the widely criticized previous 10-points.

On-pitch, the Toffees played out a 1:1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Stadium, extending their winless streak to eight matches.

The Seagulls dominated proceedings and already had 11 attempts in the 57th minute, by which time Everton had their very first shot on goal after barely having a sniff so far in the game.

Against the run of play, Everton took the lead in regular fashion from a set-piece, as Jordan Pickford’s long effort was not completely cleared out as it fell to Jarrad Branthwaite who took a fine strike to smash home the opener of the game.

Brighton were reduced to ten men in the 81st minute after Billy Gilmour was shown a red card following high studs on Amadou Onana.

One would expect Everton to capitalise on the lead and maybe put the game to bed with another goal, rather Brighton kept launching arrays of attacks on the Toffees.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men earned a well-deserved equaliser in stoppage time after a headed-out corner only went as far as Pascal Gross who sent in another cross into the box and was expertly headed into the back of the net from Dunk, to mark his 400th game for the Seagulls.

Sean Dyche’s side now sit at 15th place in the League standings, five points above Luton Town in the relegation zone, who still have a game in hand.

For West Ham, they ended an abysmal run of form where they started the year without a single win. An inspired Jarrod Bowen’s hat-trick helped relieve the pressure on head coach, David Moyes as West Ham’s 4:2 victory over Brentford ensured their first victory in six games.

Bowen scored a quick-fire double in the fifth and seventh minute to give the Hammers a high-flying start to the game. Brentford reduced the deficit through Neal Maupay in the 13th minute as the first half ended with West Ham on top.

West Ham had chances to extend their lead while Brentford also had chances to draw the game to a tie. But it was Bowen’s expertly taken header that extended the lead for the Hammers in the 63rd minute.

Emerson Palmieri completed the routing with his first goal of the season with an exquisite strike to find the top corner.

Yoane Wissa was on hand to reduce the deficit to 4:2 but there was not much time or chance to mount an unlikely comeback as West Ham cruised to their first ever Premier League victory against the Bees.

They now travel to Merseyside to face Everton in what could be tagged as the “game of consequences” as a victory could see Moyes’ side usurp Brighton at 7th place while a loss could see them drop the pecking order to ninth place if Wolves secure a win against Newcastle United.

For Everton, victory against the Hammers could see them level on points with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in 13th and 14th place respectively, while a loss could see them drop down the pecking order with a smaller point gap from the drop zone.

Hence, neither team would take any prisoners as both sides would come for the win, setting the stage for a blockbuster encounter at Goodison Park.

Everton v West Ham match details 

Date: Saturday, 2nd March 2024

Location: Liverpool, England

Venue: Goodison Park

Kick-off time: 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET, 15:00 UTC

Referee: Craig Pawson

Assistant referee: Marc Perry and Steve Meredith

Fourth official: Steve Martin

VAR: Tony Harrington

Tickets: Match going fans can buy Everton tickets via the official club website. If they are sold-out, use a reputable reseller such as seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Everton have an advantageous historical record against the Hammers having recorded 75 victories as opposed to West Ham’s 50 victories in 150 matches played all together.

• Victory for the Toffees could secure their first Premier League double over West Ham Since the 2014-15 season.

• Dyche’s side are on a nine-game winless streak in the Premier League and are yet to win a game since the turn of the year.

• Seven of Bowen’s 14 goals in the Premier League this season have been scored away from home.

• While Everton are winless in their past four Premier League home matches, West Ham are also winless in their past three away matches.

• The Toffees have scored just six goals in their last nine matches, firing blanks against Wolves, Palace, Aston Villa, Fulham and Manchester City.

• Moyes will be boosted by the return of Paqueta to the squad as West Ham have recorded victories in 11 of the 19 games the Brazilian International have featured. They went on a seven-game winless streak while the was injured.

Team News

Everton’s midfielder Idrissa Gueye was taken off four minutes into the second half against Brighton with a groin injury. The length of the injury remains unclear and a late fitness test would determine if he’s fit enough to feature against the Hammers.

Andre Gomes and Arnaut Danjuma are ruled out with calf and ankle injuries respectively while 21-year-old academy star Lewis Dobbin is doubtful for the match following an ankle issue.

Dele Alli remains a long-term absentee with a groin injury.

For West Ham, Kalvin Philips is back in contention after serving a one-game ban following his successive yellow cards in the 2:0 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Lucas Paqueta is now fully fit making it a clean slate of injury concerns for Moyes who would be spoilt for options in his starting lineup on Saturday.

Predicted starting line-ups 

Everton predicted starting lineup:

Pickford; Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Onana, McNeil; Doucoure; Calvert-Lewin

West Ham United predicted starting lineup:

Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Bowen

Prediction

As earlier stated, this is a “game of consequences” for both teams as a win or loss would prove pivotal in their League standings before the end of the weekend.

West Ham are the much safer side but could potentially miss out on a spot in Europe next season with Wolves hot on their trails. For Everton, the point reduction slash to just six points might have helped ease relegation fears but it’s not completely over as they could be right back in relegation places if they lose and Luton secure victories in their outstanding match.

The Hammers are the better side on paper, but Everton are a more desperate and dedicated side.

Hence, a draw is expected in this game which could end up being a low-scoring affair.