West Ham United host Everton at the London Stadium this afternoon.
General view inside the London Stadium
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks West Ham United and Everton will draw 1-1 at the London Stadium this afternoon.
The Hammers head into the game having won just one of their last nine Premier League games, and a late equaliser from Fabio Borini meant that Slaven Bilic’s men could only draw 2-2 at Sunderland last weekend.
Now nine points clear of the relegation zone, West Ham aren’t quite out of the woods just yet, but with just five games left to play, they are close to guaranteed Premier League football next season.
The pressure remains on manager Bilic after a disappointing season though, and he will be looking to pick up a win against one of his former clubs in Everton.
Bilic left West Ham as a player to join Everton back in 1997, and the Toffees will be looking to make their former defender miserable this afternoon.
Everton have been in superb form in 2017, and last week’s 3-1 home win over Burnley means that’s it’s now four wins in the last six Premier League games, and six wins in the last ten for Ronald Koeman’s side.
The Dutchman is on the verge of taking Everton into Europe in his first season in charge, and he will be hoping to push even closer to the top four with a win over West Ham today.
Mark Lawrenson
Ahead of the game, pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks the game will end in a 1-1 draw, noting that Everton don’t quite create the same amount of chances as they do at home, whilst also slamming West Ham’s recruitment last summer.
“West Ham are another team who are clear of the relegation scrap, although the Hammers still have issues,” said Lawrenson. “For some reason Slaven Bilic’s future as manager remains in doubt,when the real problem behind their disappointing season is their poor recruitment last summer.”
“Everton’s home form is very impressive but away from Goodison Park they have won only one out of six league matches in 2017. When they are on the road, the Toffees just don’t seem to create the same number of chances that they do at home, so I am going to go for a draw here as well,” hea dded.
What’s your prediction for West Ham United v Everton?
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