Sunday 16th September 1600hrs Everton v West Ham United Football – England – Premier League The Super Sunday clash this weekend sees two of the mainstays of the Premier League face off against each other. Both of these clubs hired new coaches in the summer and it’s been a frustrating start for one and a extremely concerning one for the other. It may just be three points on offer at Goodison Park but the impact could be much greater, particularly for the visitors depending on the outcome of the game. A match preview and selected best betting tip as Everton host West Ham, who are in desperate need of the points.
Everton are unbeaten coming into this one under Marco Silva but it could have been much better than their current haul of six points from four games. The Toffees have been up in both away games against Wolves and Bournemouth only to concede late in in the two and end up with just a draw, despite being impressive. In both those away matches Everton were reduced to 10 men and will feel had they been able to keep a full quota of players on the park then they would have been in with an excellent chance of winning those games. We know the difficulty in getting wins away from home in the Premier League so it’s hard to be overly critical, however the most frustrating game and result thus far would have been the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield last time out. It’s those sort of games against teams who will be struggling at the food of the table where the Blues have to assert their authority and get the wins that will see them challenging for the European places. The signs have been good so for but they do not want to become a team who have that unwanted habit of playing well without getting a reward.
Last season was pretty much a disaster for West Ham, as was the season before. They have went through a couple of managers in that time and the reaction from the supporters to the club’s owner has been one of anger, to put it mildly. The owners looked to respond in the summer by appointing a coach who has won the Premier League with Manuel Pellegrini replacing David Moyes. The former Manchester City boss has been thrown in at the deep end, however, despite being granted sizeable funds to strengthen the squad. He’s yet to win his first point in the Premier League as boss of the Hammers with defeats away to Liverpool and Arsenal as well as reverses against Bournemouth and newly promoted Wolves. There have been some encouraging displays in parts of games but they have not been able to put it all together for the full 90 minutes and sit bottom of the table looking up to the other 19 clubs. There have been some suggestions already that Pellegrini is not the man for the job and could be in danger of being sacked. As ridiculous as it may sound it’s not unthinkable that should they lose on Sunday then we could see the fourth managerial appointing inside two seasons for West Ham.
Everton v West Ham Betting Tip
It’s been a good start for Everton and Silva will be pleased that his team have been able to go four games without defeat so early in his reign. There’s no doubt that his team missed the spark that new signing Richarlison provides having been suspended for the previous game against Huddersfield and he will be once again missing for this one. The head coach will be hoping that some of the players nursing injuries will be fit enough to play to compensate for that loss. West Ham certainly don’t lack for options but Pellegrini has yet to find a system and formation that is suitable to get his style of play across but ensure that it’s effective to get results in this league. It seems redundant to say but there’s a feeling he has yet to appreciate the difference of managing a team at this end of the division compared to his previous spell in the Premier League.
In terms of Sunday’s game then it’s a fixture that tends to produce plenty of memorable moments and its fair share of goals. Last season was no different was Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick in this same encounter including an excellent long-range strike. West Ham got their revenge at home on the final day of the season but I think their struggles this term are going to continue when they travel to Merseyside on Sunday. I toyed with backing over 2.5 goals due to the strong trends in this fixture but on further reflection the best bet is on a home win.
Selection: Everton 11/10 @ William Hill
