Everton v West Ham Betting Tip Over 2.5 goals, 2016-03-05

Entertaining game on the cards at Goodison

Premier League Tips

Saturday 5th March 2016 Kickoff: 1500hrs                                   Everton v West Ham Betting                                                 Football – England – Premier League

It was a successful midweek for both Everton and West Ham as the two teams recorded impressive wins to continue their recent good form. The Toffees sit just outside of the top 10 ahead of this game but there has been considerable improvement in their performances and results over the last month, whilst their opponents are still very much in with a chance of finishing in the top four, trailing fourth placed Manchester City by only one point. With FA Cup quarter-finals on the horizon for the two next week, confidence should be high for both clubs on Saturday.

No team has drawn more games in this season’s Premier League than Everton and it’s been a source of real frustration for the club’s supporters. Bearing in mind the money that has been spent over the last couple of seasons on assembling an impressive looking squad, and with so many of the established big teams underperforming this term, there was a great opportunity for Everton to challenge for a Champions League spot. When you factor in their fifth placed finished in Roberto Martinez’ first season, the Toffees simply have to be doing better than their current position of 11th. As noted earlier, there has been an upturn in their results and they come into this game with three wins in their last four league games. That may not sound overly impressive but considering they had won only one of the 10 games before then, they are at least beginning to find some sort of consistency heading into the final 11 games of their league campaign and – probably more importantly now – their FA Cup quarter-final with Chelsea a week on Saturday.

There are not many teams West Ham’s fans enjoy beating more than Tottenham and their joy would have been even greater as the 1-0 win at Upton Park on Wednesday put a dent in Spurs’ title challenge. It also gave the Hammers further hope that they could finish in the top four – something that would have been laughed at when Slaven Bilic took over last summer. It is now just two defeats in their last 15 games in the league, and that is tremendous consistency. They may not be winning games in extravagant fashion or scoring a barrowload of goals, but there is a belief within this team that they are capable of beating the best the Premier League has to offer. Their league form is made even more impressive by the fact that they remain in the FA Cup and had to negotiate a replay to add to their schedule. Unlike the majority of the other teams in the hunt for the top four, their squad is one of the smallest and is not really equipped to be challenging on multiple fronts, particularly as they finished in 12th last season. However, in a season that sees Leicester City favourites for the title, West Ham’s improvement has went somewhat unnoticed.

The challenge for Everton now is to finish their league campaign as strongly as possible with a look ahead to the next season. A very strong finish could possibly put them in with a chance of a European spot via the league but that would required a number of teams collapsing themselves, so realistically it’s about ending the season on a high and trying to overcome the challenge of Chelsea in the cup to reach the last four. Having already reached that stage in the League Cup, many suggested that if this season was to be considered a success then no less than an appearance at Wembley would be accepted. It’s a touch unfortunate that they have been drawn against a team who are hitting their best form of the season but it is a home tie and one that could well define the Toffee’s season.

For all their away day exploits at the beginning of the season that seen them win at Anfield, the Etihad and the Emirates, it’s been West Ham’s home form that has maintained their position at the top end of the Premier League. The Hammers have actually only won one of their last eight away games in the league – a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in January. Contrast that to their form at Upton Park which has been exemplary since August. Undefeated in their last 12 home games – winning seven of them – only Manchester City have breached West Ham’s defence in their five home games in 2016. If the club are to continue their surge towards the top four then the likelihood is that their away form has to begin to resemble that of their home results – starting on Saturday.

Everton v West Ham Betting Tips

At the start of the season you would have predicted that if one of these two clubs were to be challenging for the Champions League positions at the beginning of March, the vast majority of people would have said Everton. That was the expectation but it’s West Ham who have been better equipped and more consistent thus far. That may well be something that Martinez and his players will use as motivation as they sit five places and eight points behind this weekend’s opponents.

Games between these two are usually entertaining and that is reflected in the number goals that have been shared amongst the two down the years. Since 2008, the two clubs have met 18 times and there have been 48 goals – an average of 2.7 goals per game. In terms of their form this season, games involving Everton have featured the highest number of goals in the Premier League with 3.15. West Ham’s matches have not been quite as entertaining but they still average over 2.5 goals, and they have a slightly bigger average on their travels. It’s not the biggest priced bet you will ever place but I think backing over 2.5 goals is a very solid bet on this occasion and that’s the selection at Goodison Park.

Over 2.5 goals 1.70 @ Bet365