London: West Ham United will be aiming to complete their first league double over Everton since the 1972-73 campaign when the two sides meet in the Premier League clash tomorrow.
West Ham’s joint top-scorer Jarrod Bowen is expected to miss a fifth game due to a fractured bone in his foot, but he could return to face Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday. Vladimir Coufal (hernia) is back in contention following eight games out.
Everton midfielder Allan serves the second game of a three-match ban, Yerry Mina is still unavailable and Andros Townsend is out for the season however Donny van de Beek should return from illness. They will need him to be on song tomorrow and help get the Blues away from the relegation zone.
A 1-0 home defeat against West Ham on 17 October 2021 was the start of a current run of 15 losses in 20 league matches for them and coach Frank Lampard knows he must get points on the board quickly if Everton are to avoid the drop for the first time since 1951.
Interestingly, Everton have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League away games against West Ham (W8, D4), a 3-1 defeat in May 2018. The Toffees have won a club record 12 Premier League away matches against their London opponents. But, they have the division’s worst away record, earning just six points. They are winless in 11 league games on the road (D2, L9), their worst run since a 16-match streak without victory in 2017.
Car crash
Meanwhile, West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini was uninjured after the car he was travelling in to the club’s training ground crashed and hit a tree.
Lanzini, who had been on international duty with Argentina, did not require hospital treatment following the accident in east London on Thursday.
West Ham manager David Moyes later confirmed that the 29-year-old had escaped unhurt and was feeling fine.
“The car went down a ditch and off the road. He’s a bit sore but he’s okay. It’s terrible, but we don’t want to go on too much about it. It’s happened to Manuel but he’s okay, thankfully.”
