Key events
Seeing as Michael Keane is playing, here’s one of my favourite goals of recent times.
West Ham, meanwhile, will look to play off Fullkrug, with Bowen coming off the flank in support while, down the left, Summerville keeps the width and behind, Paquetá prompts. I don’t think they’re anywhere near as bad as their league position suggests, but i do worry about the centre of their defence – which is why is makes sense to bring Magassa in for Ward-Prowse.
So where is the game? Everton will defend fairly deep – they’ve not much pace in the centre of their defence – and look either for Beto in the channels or Grealish to improvise. West Ham have pace at full-back, so I’d expect Ndiaye to attack the space on the inside, with Dewsbury-Hall hoping for cut-backs to the edge of the box.
I’m interested to see how West Ham’s midfield functions tonight. Obviously it’s only one game, but Magassa and Matheus Fernandes looks a better bet than Fernandes and Ward-Prowse, allowing Lucas Paquetá to concentrate on attacking. I also think Fullkrug makes more sense than Wilson; he’s a reference point at which to aim and, if they can hit him with crosses, he’s a problem for any team.
David Moyes, meanwhile, picks the same team which lost 2-1 at Anfield last weekend.
He says that you can’t do much in two training sessions, so the main point that’s been communicated to the players is effort. James Ward-Prowse, left out of the squad, has had the reasons explained and, Nuno reckons, understands the situation – or at least said he did because what else can you tell your boss? – and Soungoutou Magassa, signed in the summer, has been handed a debut because of his physicality. Finally, he went for Niclas Fullkrug not Callum Wilson because that’s what he thought the team needed – though I guess he also knows that at 33, Wilson is not the future.
We’ll talk about them in a minute, but first, Nuno is speaking to Sky…
Teams!
Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gana, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall; Ndiaye, Beto, Grealish. Subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Barry, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam.
West Ham (4-3-3): Areola; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf; Magassa, Fernandes, Paqueta; Bowen, Fullkrug, Summerville. Subs: Hermansen, Igor, Wilson, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Scarles, Potts.
Referee: Sam Barrott (Yorkshire)
Preamble
It’s not easy turning a house into a home, but at least, as people, we have options: whack up the LIVE, LOVE LAUGH poster, leave the lid off when making chicken stock and, if all else fails, enjoy a sit-down with the door open.
For football clubs, though, it’s all about the collective memory, which can only come with time and experiences. Leaving Goodison Park must’ve been a serious wrench for Everton fans and, though there’s a fair chance the new ground has better sightlines and stability, going to the match is about being part of something – the game but also a continuum of people and and place – which is now diluted.
It will be a while before new communities are formed and fans feel like they belong – just ask West Ham, whose move from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium is one of the biggest downgrades of all time. but nights like tonight are part of that process: opportunities for stuff to happen, both good and bad. Everton have started the season reasonably, Jack Grealish the step-quickener they’ve largely been without over the last few decades, and he’ll fancy himself to do something of note against the Premier League’s second-worst team.
West Ham, though, will be feeling better after replacing Graham Potter with Nuno Espírito Santo, and would like nothing more than to ruin Everton’s evening with a win taking them to within a point of their hosts. The spending and form of Leeds and Sunderland means that this season, potential strugglers can’t simply rely on promoted ones to be worse than them so, though we’re only six games into the season, there’s pressure on both of these teams – and neither can rely on home comforts to get them out of trouble.
Kick-off: 8pm
