MY ACCOUNT
– West Ham have won three of their last six PL home games, scoring 2+ goals in all those wins
– Everton have conceded at least two goals in seven of their last eight games in all competitions
– Recommended bet: West Ham to win & over 1.5 goals
West Ham can alleviate some of the mounting pressure on David Moyes when they face a sinking Everton side under the stewardship of former Hammer Frank Lampard.
Moyes has not lacked support in the transfer market and he is now close to bolstering his striking options with the signing of Danny Ings, who is on the verge of finalising his switch to the London Stadium.
The Scotsman will hope his new arrival will be confirmed and available ahead of the weekend and that he can maintain his happy knack of scoring against the Toffees when the two sides meet in a relegation scrap.
The Everton players may be glad to get away from the toxic atmosphere that engulfed last weekend’s game against Southampton, who inflicted a third straight defeat on the Merseyside outfit.
But Lampard’s men have been blunt on their travels for most of the season, scoring only once in their last five away league matches.
Team news
Moyes has been rotating Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio with the Italian getting the majority of the starts at home, but Ings could be handed an instant debut, if his deal goes through in time.
Maxwel Cornet is the only injury absentee for the Hammers with Said Benrahma, Ben Johnson, Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma and Flynn Downes hoping to earn recalls.
For Everton, Lampard is expected to set-up with a back five again.
Yerry Mina is the odd man out at the moment with Bed Godfrey and James Tarkowski getting the nod to slot in alongside Conor Coady.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s out-of-sorts performances could lead to a change up front where Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms are the manager’s only other options.
Nathan Patterson is still out and Michael Keane is not expected to be available, but James Garner and Andros Townsend have resumed individual training as they look to recover from injuries.
The stats
Everton have lost four consecutive home league games for the first time since September 1958.
Ings has hit seven goals and provided three assists in 15 previous games against Everton, scoring against the Merseysiders for four different clubs (Burnley, Liverpool, Southampton and Aston Villa).
Everton and West Ham have scored the joint-fewest first-half goals in the Premier League this season (six each), with the Hammers the only side yet to score in the opening 15 minutes of matches in 2022-23.
Prediction
Ings’ addition could prove to be one of the shrewder January moves made by any of the bottom seven clubs as the striker is primed to hit the ground running after playing quite regularly for Aston Villa.
A history of goalscoring against Everton and the fact that the Toffees would dearly have loved to sign him themselves almost makes it inevitable that he will have a positive impact on this game.
Whether he scores or not, Ings can give Moyes’ team a lift and ensure Scamacca and Antonio are kept on their toes.
The Hammers have lost their last three home league games, but none were against teams with away records as bad as Everton’s right now.
The Toffees, who have conceded at least two goals in seven of their last eight games in all competitions, look set to come unstuck again in what could be a hard-fought home win for Moyes’ men.
West Ham have scored at least twice in three of their last six at home, all of which they won, with the hosts available to back at 11/8 with LiveScore Bet for another victory with over 1.5 goals in Saturday’s fixture.
