Sports Blog 06/01/2015: Match Preview – Everton vs West Ham, Tuesday 6th January 2015

Tonight sees the third round of the FA Cup continue, with a struggling Everton side hosting an inconsistent West Ham.

The Toffees have had a dismal time of it recently, losing 6 of their last 7 matches, leaving manager Roberto Martinez hanging on to his job by a thread. Rumours are also swirling of an Everton exodus in the January transfer window; Martinez has been forced to deny that players like England national Ross Barkley will leave in the window, creating a less than helpful atmosphere at Goodison Park.

Martinez will need a good run in the cup to keep the wolves at bay, as Everton sit in 13th in the league, a stark contrast from their 5th place finish last season. In a near like-for-like swap, West Ham, last season’s 13th placed team, are sitting pretty at 7th. At most points in West Ham’s recent season this would be seen as an overachievement; however, after their form at the start of this season, which saw they at 4th before the Christmas period, fans can feel disappointed in this slip in position. The Hammers only managed to gain 1 point from a possible 9 over their festive fixtures, and Big Sam will be looking to restart their campaign with a win tonight.

Both teams are suffering some selection issues at the moment. Everton keeper Tim Howard is injured, and the Toffees have conceded 5 goals in 2 games in his absence. Midfielders Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are also out, as too is defender Tony Hibbert. West Ham will be without Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyate, both at the African Cup of Nations, alongside star striker Diafra Sakho. 

Even though he may be coming to the end of his injury, if Sakho is fit he will be playing for Senegal in the Cup of Nations anyway. This means West Ham will have to make do with Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia, both on 3 goals this season and at 13/2 and 7/1 fixed odds betting to score first respectively. Everton have had a similar level of successful in front of goal recently, with Romelu Lukaku on 7 goals and favourite to score first at 9/2, with Kevin Mirallas also on 7 goals at 13/2 and Steven Naismith on 5 goals at 11/2.

Whilst any cup game is a must-win for smaller sides like Everton and West Ham, a victory tonight is even more attractive as the FA Cup 4th round draw will see the winner face either Doncaster or Bristol City, providing an easier-than-most route to round 5. Despite their awful recent form, Everton have not lost to West Ham in 14 fixtures, meaning here at Spreadex we have seen plenty of bets on an Everton/West Ham Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.4-0.6 and a Total Goals spread betting quote of 2.85-3.05.