Can the Blues put the Hammers on the front foot in a contest between managers who are mirror images of one other?
Eight days have passed since the Blues went into Stanley Park for their yearly humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, their local rivals. It was a dull, low-key game played in an environment characteristic of these kinds of matches at Anfield, with the match officials having a disproportionate influence on the outcome.
After the dubious thrill of the Merseyside derby has subsided, Everton will try to turn things around this season by hosting West Ham United at the London Stadium.
It seems appropriate that the club plays a squad that was owned by longtime chairman Bill Kenwright this coming Saturday, given it will be their first game since his passing last week.
led by David Moyes, the manager most connected to his time at the team.
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The Hammers endured a lackluster season, at least in terms of their Premier League efforts, hanging about the bottom of the standings until the last few weeks of the season, when they eventually broke through. It was not good enough for a team that had just finished an incredible season and had spent a net of €165 million on reinforcements to hang around the drop for so long. In the end, they finished in 14th place, six points ahead of the relegated Leicester City. Moyes was under constant criticism, which was only lessened by an incredible run in the Europa Conference League that saw the East Londoners win the FA Cup and earn their first major trophy since 1980.
The Scot has gained some goodwill as a result of the club’s lengthy trophy drought ending, but supporters were more interested in seeing if the team could succeed this season, which was made more difficult by the summertime departure of talisman Declan Rice to Arsenal. Scoop Gianluca Scamacca and Nikola Vlasic, the former player for Everton, left for Italy, bringing a big sum of money the club had set up for signings. To try to replace the versatile Rice, West Ham piled on the midfield spending, bringing in James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, and former Blues target Mohamed Kudus for a total of €116 million, which is, ironically, precisely what their former captain cost the Gunners. For an additional €20 million, tall center half Konstantinos Mavropanos was signed from VFB Stuttgart; nevertheless, the Greek has hardly not yet featured.
The club had a great start, winning three of their first four league games—including thrilling 3-1 triumphs against Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion—and staying undefeated before suffering their first loss against Manchester City. The London team lost badly to Liverpool at Anfield in their next domestic game, but they bounced back with three straight victories across all categories, including a convincing home triumph over the hopeless Sheffield United and a strong Europa League victory away at Freiburg. After pulling off a thrilling late draw against Newcastle United, they were defeated 4-1 by the home team at Villa Park, where they had played a competitive first half.
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