- Irons won 3-1 at Goodison Park
- 9th, 11th place sides separated by 2 points
- Everton dominates all-time series 69W-31D-39L
West Ham United and Everton can still rescue European treasure from their disappointing seasons, and will meet Saturday at the London Stadium (Watch live at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
The host Irons have won three-straight at home, and can move into seventh place with a win and help from hosts Manchester United versus Watford and desperate Burnley versus Wolves.
Everton can climb over West Ham with an away win on Saturday.
Both sides have been inconsistent, both over long stretches and of course over a single game. Everton rebounded from a loss to Newcastle to blank Chelsea, while West Ham came back from a 3-0 deficit in its last Premier League outing to beat Huddersfield Town 4-3.
What they’re saying
West Ham’s Manuel Pellegrini on winning at home: “Fans were enjoying the game, they were all involved, supporting the team and not thinking or talking or acting like what happened last season. [The atmosphere] depends on the performance of the team, that’s why it was so important to win those three games in a row, and now it’s more important to win the fourth game.”
Everton’s Michael Keane on finding his groove: “I’ve always had the belief in myself but when things aren’t going well for you on the pitch you sort of lose a bit of confidence. But I’ve always had the belief that I’m good enough to play at Everton. It’s obviously a top-class club and you have to play well week in week out to prove that to the fans and to people at the Club and I think I’ve managed to do that this season.”
Prediction
This is a difficult one to figure, with both teams having a bevy of players coming off international breaks and neither being particularly predictable in the first place. We expect goals, and we’ll call it 2-2.
