West Ham lock horns with Everton at the London Stadium on Saturday in a vital clash at the bottom of the Premier League.
The Hammers have managed just one point in their last seven games which has left David Moyes in danger of being sacked. Their narrow 1-0 loss to Wolves was a fourth defeat across their last five Premier League fixtures, thereby, keeping them in the bottom zone.
Wary of the sword just hanging over his head, Moyes will expect a strong performance from his boys against fellow strugglers Everton, who head to the London Stadium on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Southampton.
Alphonse Areola missed the game at Wolves last weekend with hip discomfort and remains doubtful ahead of this fixture. Maxwel Cornet continues to be on the sidelines for West Ham.
Goalkeeper
Lukasz Fabianski is expected to continue between the sticks for West Ham. He will be looking to keep a clean sheet against a toothless Everton side.
Defence
Kurt Zouma is now fully fit and was an unused substitute in the defeat at Wolves, however, the Frenchman could get the nod to start alongside Nayef Aguerd in West Ham’s central defence. Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal should keep their places at left-back and right-back, respectively.
Angelo Ogbonna should drop down to the bench and offer cover for defensive positions along with Ben Johnson, Thilo Kehrer and Emerson.
Midfield
Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta and Tomas Soucek would make up West Ham’s midfield. Rice will start in his usual No.6 role, with Paqueta and Soucek adding energy and creativity as the two No.8s. Their main responsibility would be to dominate the ball in the middle of the park and engineer enough clear-cut chances to win this clash against Everton at home.
Manuel Lanzini and Flynn Downes will be available on the bench as the duo for their chances to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if required.
Attack
Said Benrahma is expected to get the nod on the left flank on Saturday after the Algerian came on as a substitute for Pablo Fornals in West Ham’s defeat to Wolves last weekend. He will look to use his pace, movement and creativity to cause problems for the Everton backline, while Jarrod Bowen tries to give a good account of himself from the right wing.
Regardless of failing to score at Wolves, Michail Antonio could keep his place in the No.9 role with Gianluca Scamacca setting for a role on the bench again. Antonio has to find a way to get on the scoresheet and make a real difference against Everton.
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