Overview
10 days after the 4-0 victory over Wolves, West Ham continued to have another positive result when they drew with Crystal Palace 0-0. Although the match was not attractive, this was still a valuable point that helped them keep a clean sheet for 2 consecutive matches - something they had never done since February last year.
Coach Nuno Espirito Santo admitted that the relegation battle will last until the final round. West Ham is currently ranked 17th, 2 points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur when the season is only 5 rounds left.
The goal of 40 points - a familiar milestone for relegation - is still The Hammers' destination, although they themselves understand that this number is not necessarily safe enough. History has witnessed West Ham being relegated with 42 points in the 2002-2003 season.
Returning to the home ground London Stadium is a great support for the capital team. They are unbeaten in their last 5 home matches (2 wins, 3 draws), the best performance streak since the end of 2023 under David Moyes.
However, the head-to-head record with Everton here is not very impressive, as West Ham has only won 3/17 times hosting opponents. However, they have won 2 out of the last 4 times, including a 2-0 victory in 2023 thanks to a double by Jarrod Bowen.
On the other side, Everton just suffered a 1-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Virgil van Dijk's decisive goal in the 90+10 minute shattered their hopes of getting points right at home.
Moyes' team is in unstable form when they have not won 3/4 of their recent matches. Although the chance of participating in the Champions League is very small, Everton still has hope of winning a ticket to European cups when they are ranked 10th and only 3 points behind Brighton.
Away form is again Everton's highlight. They have won 25 away points this season - a record only behind Arsenal and Manchester City, and also the best record since the 2020-2021 season.
In Premier League history, Everton is the opponent that West Ham faces the most difficulties with, when The Toffees have won a total of 29 matches and 13 away matches against this opponent - more than any other team.
However, Everton is also not too confident when traveling to London, where they have only won 3/15 recent matches. Personally, Moyes is facing a special opportunity - to become one of the few strategists who have ever won away from home against two old teams in the same season. Before that, he did this when defeating Man United, and now is an opportunity to re-establish against West Ham.
Personnel situation
Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed that he does not have health problems and is ready to direct the weekend match. With recent stable form, West Ham is likely to maintain the starting lineup.
However, the right-back position may be an adjustment point as Aaron Wan-Bissaka is competing for a starting spot with Kyle Walker-Peters. The defensive quartet is expected to still revolve around Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi and El Hadji Malick Diouf.
On the other side, Everton suffered serious losses. Center-back Jarrad Branthwaite has been out for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury, while Jack Grealish is still being treated for a leg injury.
The attacking situation is even more worrying when Beto cannot play due to a brain injury after the match against Liverpool, even though he has just scored 5 goals in the last 6 matches. In that context, Thierno Barry is expected to lead the attack.
Expected lineup:
West Ham: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf, Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville, Pablo, Castellanos.
Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Garner, Gueye, McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Barry.
The match between West Ham and Everton takes place at 9:00 PM on April 25 (Vietnam time).
