Everton will be looking to extend their winning streak to five games when they host West Ham United at Goodison Park on Friday.
The Toffees currently sit fourth in the Premier League table – level with third-place Leicester City on 29 points and six points ahead of tenth-place West Ham.
👐 𝚃𝙾𝙿 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙴𝚂 👐📺 @JPickford1 looks back on some memorable #PL stops... pic.twitter.com/03KB9WIKKV— Everton (@Everton) December 31, 2020
👐 𝚃𝙾𝙿 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙴𝚂 👐📺 @JPickford1 looks back on some memorable #PL stops... pic.twitter.com/03KB9WIKKV
Carlo Ancelotti’s men head into Friday’s clash on a five-match unbeaten run, with four straight victories coming in the space of a fortnight.
After drawing with Burnley, Everton have claimed victories over Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal and Sheffield United.
It is also worth pointing out that the Toffees have kept three clean sheets in their previous four outings, scoring six goals along the way.
However, following a run of 11 goals in the first 11 games this season, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has failed to score in each of his last four appearances.
Needless to say, Ancelotti will be hoping that his main striker can rediscover some goalscoring form sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, West Ham have only lost one of their last four games, although three draws have come during that period.
The Hammers’ last victory came against Leeds at the beginning of December. But since then, draws with Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton have prevented them from moving up the standings.
Still, a strong start to the season has enabled David Moyes’ side to remain in the top half of the table, albeit on goal difference.
Having said that, it is worth mentioning that West Ham have the worst defensive record in the table half, as well as the second-worst scoring record.
Head-to-head: Everton are unbeaten in their previous four meetings with West Ham, picking up three wins and a draw in the process.
The two sides met in the EFL Cup back in September, with the Toffees claiming a convincing 4-1 victory over the Hammers.
This fixture has dished up plenty of goals in recent times, with four of the last seven matches producing over 3.5 goals.
Team news: Everton have a number of key players out through injury at the moment. Fabian Delph, Lucas Digne, James Rodriguez and Allan will all miss Friday’s clash.
As for West Ham, they will be without Arthur Masuaku. Ben Johnson is likely to deputise at left wing-back again.
West Ham have picked up some positive results recently, but it feels like Everton are on an unstoppable run at the moment.
Forebet predicts that Everton will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory over West Ham on Saturday.