In contrast to their early-season success, Everton and David Moyes are now undergoing their toughest week of the season far, after recording two defeats in the same week at the hands of Liverpool and Wolves. Whilst the performance in the Merseyside derby showed promise towards the second half, Tuesday’s defeat showed anything but.
Moyes will take most of the blame for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup exit, and deservedly so. In a cup competition that Everton fans looked forward to competing strongly for, Moyes fielded a team which suggested he could not care less about the cup. For a club who have been unsuccessful in competitions since 1995, that is simply unacceptable. Everton have looked in the best position they have been for years, providing the foundations for a solid cup run with a comfortable league campaign – it appears Moyes has other priorities.
Tuesday highlighted the difference in quality between Everton’s first team and their backups. A midfield of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye compared to Dwight McNeil, Carlos Alcaraz and Tyler Dibling is (currently) night and day. Everton have been poor at the back for a lot of this season, meaning the attack has been the reason for the impressive results they have gained. You take that attack out, it is no surprise what will happen.
Everton will look to make things right on Monday night, at their first match under the lights at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against a West Ham team that now looks far different than it did a week ago. The appointment of ex-Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo was announced on Saturday morning, almost immediately after West Ham announced Graham Potter had been sacked. Whilst Potter’s West Ham would have been far more of an ideal opposition, Nuno will only have two days maximum to work his magic which saw Nottingham Forest qualify for the Europa League last season.
Everton and West Ham – History
Everton are winless in their last four competitive meetings with West Ham, with their last win coming in the form of a 1-0 win at the London Stadium in October 2023. Since then, Everton have drawn two and lost two.
Jake O’Brien scored a last minute equaliser for the Blues in the last Premier League between these teams, in a 1-1 draw.
Everton have 75 wins in this fixture, compared to West Ham’s 45.
Team news
Defender Jarrad Branthwaite and midfielder Merlin Rohl continue their spell on the sidelines. The date for their return is still yet to be confirmed. There are no fresh injury concerns for the Toffees otherwise.
sAaron Wan-Bissaka is still yet to return to West Ham’s squad since the last international break.
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek is suspended for this match, as he continues to serve his suspension for a straight-red card against Spurs.
What the manager says
On progress – ‘I think we have brought a lot of things together and done a lot of good things but this is only the starting point, we are still only just coming out of dark days.’
On West Ham – ‘It is great to see them all… we had some great times together and I always look forward to seeing them because I brought in many of the players who are there.’
On Adam Aznou – ‘We are disappointed he re-injured himself… we will get him back, he is really important for us… He has a bit to do to be ready for the first team.’
Everton Key Player
Jack Grealish – I could use the exact same player for this section every single week, simply because the vast majority of Everton’s attacking play goes through this man. Everton’s performance on Tuesday night massively improved (which isn’t saying much) after Grealish entered the field of play. He provides an outlet who the rest of the squad can rely on to get the team up the pitch, or win a foul to buy his teammates a breather. Is Grealish over-relied upon in this squad? Probably – but what he offers is wholly unique.
Grealish has made 34 ball carries ending in the opposition penalty area this season, seven ahead of second-place Callum Hudson-Odoi. Whilst this undoubtedly shows the reliance on Grealish in this Everton squad, it highlights the outstanding quality of the 30-year-old. No-one, if anyone, else in the Premier League can replicate what he does, with his lack of pace just going to show his incredible technical ability.
Providing Nuno continues with the same setup that Potter left with due to the short turnaround, Grealish will be up against Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s deputy, Kyle Walker-Peters. Whilst being an able back-up, Walker-Peters was part of last season’s dreadful Southampton side – showing he is hardly a defensive wall. West Ham have conceded the joint-most goals in the league this season; Everton cannot afford not to capitalise through Grealish’s creativity.
One to watch for West Ham
Jarrod Bowen – Once again, this feels like a section which picks itself. At a club which feels like it has problems from top to bottom, Bowen gives a sense of consistency and security – almost as if, for as long as you have a Jarrod Bowen in your squad, you will never get relegated. It is easy to see why Bowen has gained this reputation, scoring 13 goals every season since 2021/22, providing 37 assists in that time. Incredible numbers for a team who have never been at the very top of the table.
Everton may welcome Vitaliy Mykolenko back into the Starting XI for this match, after Seamus Coleman was a makeshift left-back against Wolves; providing some much-needed familiarity in the role. Mykolenko is a solid defender and has kept Bowen quiet in the past, but the England international is certainly a player who can turn it on and win a game completely on his own. Just look at his finish against Nottingham Forest earlier on in the season to turn the game on its head. This feels like a match where both teams’ talisman are going to be the deciding factor.
Final Thoughts
After the feel-good factor to begin this season, Monday’s match has the feel of a must-win game for Everton. Moyes cannot allow any toxicity to enter the club after two dismal defeats in the past week, and a defeat to West Ham will undoubtedly turn this season on its head. With promoted teams pickup up points like there’s no tomorrow and an already congested bottom half, Everton need to take all three points here if they want to bridge the gap between themselves and the top teams.
Everton can go eighth with a win, just two points behind 2nd-placed Crystal Palace at the time of writing. Conversely, if they lose, they will be just three points above the relegation zone. In a league which is full of teams on poor, inconsistent runs of form, it is time for Everton to capitalise and get themselves back on track with a win on Monday. If Everton do lose, the Hammers will be just a point behind them; comparing the general consensus as to how both teams have started the season, that is an unsettling prospect.
Moyes will know he does not want to sleepwalk into the bottom six. After an impressive start, fans were in danger of getting carried away – this is a squad still largely made up of bottom half Premier League players, with some stars in attack. Everton cannot live off of one impressive week of form back in August forever.
Prediction
2-1 – Everton do tend to struggle against West Ham no matter the manager, and against Nuno no matter the team he is managing. Despite this, I expect Everton to come through this one unscathed. Everton can beat anyone if their first-choice attack is on form and left free to express themselves, and Nuno will not be able to make West Ham’s poor squad any better in the space of two days. West Ham have a poor midfield and an even poorer defence and, whilst Tuesday’s loss against Wolves proved that you cannot take anything for granted against Premier League opposition, the onus is really on the Toffees to continue West Ham’s dismal start to the season.
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