West Ham club-record signing Andre Ayew could play a part as he continues to return from injury with the Hammers on the road at Goodison Park to take on Everton at 9:30am E.T. live on NBCSN or live online at NBCSports.com.
Ayew signed with the Hammers this summer from Swansea City but made it just 35 minutes into his club debut against Chelsea in mid-August before going down with a serious hamstring injury. The 26-year-old Ghanan has not started since, returning midweek off the bench in a 2-1 win, also against Chelsea in EFL Cup play.
WATCH LIVE: Everton vs. West Ham live online at NBCSports.com
The return is a bright spot for West Ham among a myriad of other injuries, with Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho not among the strike options, while the wing-back issues continue with both Arthur Makuatsu and Sam Byram sidelined. Dimitri Payet leads the way in the Hammers’ starting lineup, as the Frenchman capped a massive comeback in this fixture last season, with West Ham coming from two goals down to win 3-2 on Payet’s injury-time winner.
For Everton, the Toffees are dealing with their own set of injuries as Leighton Baines has not played since early September due to a hamstring injury and misses out again, as does midfielder James McCarthy. Without those two, Everton has struggled mightily, without a win in any competition since September 17 with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Burnley last time out, but they remain sixth in the table on 15 points, level with Watford and Manchester United.
The home side has dominated today’s opponent in recent past, with that Payet winner marking West Ham’s only win over Everton in the last 16 Premier League meetings between these two clubs.
LINEUPS
Everton: Robles; Coleman, Williams, Funes Mori, Oviedo; Barry, Gueye; Bolasie, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.
Subs: Jagielka, Hewelt, Deulofeu, Lennon, Cleverley, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate.
West Ham: Adrian; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna; Fernandes, Obiang, Noble, Cresswell; Lanzini, Payet; Antonio.
Subs: Randolph, Nordtveit, Feghouli, Zaza, Collins, Zaza, Ayew, Fletcher.
