Everton will look to bounce back from successive defeats when they face West Ham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday.
The Toffees are still smarting from the hugely disappointing Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves, where they paid the price for making too many changes to the side.
It felt like the first real misstep by David Moyes in his second spell at the club. The fans are desperate for a trophy and believe an avenue to one was needlessly shut off.
There’s no guarantee they would have won had Moyes named
a full-strength side, but they enjoyed their best spell of the game after the likes of Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye were introduced. Wolves had a lead to hold on to by then, though, and were happy to sit back and hit on the counter – which they did.
Still, that is now in the past, and back-to-back home games represent a chance to restore a bit of the feel-good factor that has slipped away over the past week.
The opposition
What a few days it has been for West Ham. A fifth defeat in six games in all competitions, against Crystal Palace last weekend, sparked near-mutiny from a frustrated and angry fanbase – with much of their ire directed at the board as well as manager Graham Potter.
Potter clung on all week and even fulfilled his pre-match media duties on Friday, only to be sacked on Saturday morning. Nuno Espírito Santo was confirmed as his successor a few hours later.
He is unlikely to be able to change too much in just two training sessions, but his arrival may just jolt a flagging team into life.
Previous meeting
Everton 1–1 West Ham, 15 March 2025
Jake O’Brien’s stoppage-time header rescued a point for Everton after yet another Tomas Soucek goal against the Toffees looked to have earned the Hammers victory in mid-March.
Team news
Jarrad Branthwaite remains sidelined as he continues to recover from the thigh injury that ended his season, with Moyes confirming on Friday that he has not yet returned to training.
Deadline day signing Merlin Rohl is also ruled out with a groin problem.
Final word
The sacking of Graham Potter and the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo is a bit of a curveball, with fans now fearing a new manager bounce. But there’s no disguising the fact that it has been an awful season for West Ham so far, and a vast improvement is needed if they are to stay out of trouble. Let’s hope any revival is delayed by a few days.
