David Moyes is on the verge of making an emotional return to the Goodison Park, where he made his name. However, things at Everton have changed a lot since his departure. A black horse in the race to make it into the top four in the Premier League even in the last term, the Merseyside club has succumbed to defeats in an unexpected manner this season, leaving them in the bottom end of the table with the dreaded possibility of relegation looming large.
During the summer, it seemed like Everton were the desperate parents trying to make their children happy by buying in an endless line of toys without much prior thought. A barrage of new signings came in, all under the guidance of Ronald Koeman and Everton ended up spending a startling £142.38 million. They were the fourth highest spenders in the market ahead of the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and most importantly for them, Liverpool.
The lack of harmonical harnessing of the new power and talent available at the club saw Everton’s plans crumble like a house of cards. Not even the return of their favourite boyhood star Wayne Rooney could spare the club any blushes as they crashed to relentless defeats one after the other.
They are now struggling to breathe as teams are raring to have a go at them, making them the easy targets of the season.
They face fellow strugglers West Ham United and this could prove to be a vital three points, come the end of the season for the battle to safety.
Here is how Everton will look to line-up for the important match.
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence
Jordan Pickford will be seen in goal once again for the Toffees. The experienced centre-back Phil Jagielka will be expected to do a better job than the one they did over the weekend when they conceded 4 goals against Southampton. He is likely to be partnered by Ashley Williams in absence of the injured Michael Keane. 20-year-old Jonjoe Kenny has been a little bright spark in a struggling Everton side and he will be expected to start once again in right back. Leighton Baines is also set to miss the match with the position likely to go to Cuco Martina, who has been playing as a left back in the Europa League matches.
Midfield
The midfield quartet is likely to be Gylfi Sigurdsson on the left flank with Aaron Lennon on the right with the middle two likely to be Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye.
Attack
Wayne Rooney might make a return to the starting line up alongside the impressive Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
