By Daily Sports on October 17, 2021

Everton and West Ham United will both seek a return to winning ways in the Premier League when the two European chasers lock horns at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Toffees managed to take a point home from their clash with Manchester United before the international break, while the Hammers fell to defeat against Brentford.

The headlines at Old Trafford may have been dominated by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo, but take nothing away from Everton's performance at the Theatre of Dreams as they came away with a 1-1 draw.

Anthony Martial initially justified his selection with the game’s opening goal just before the break, but Everton new boy Andros Townsend continued his hot streak with the equaliser after a sweeping second-half counter-attack to hand Rafael Benitez yet another positive result.

The ex-Liverpool boss has overseen four victories and two draws from his opening seven games in charge to propel his side to fifth in the rankings as one of four sides sitting on 14 points, and there is the slight possibility of Everton ending the weekend at the top of the pile if results go their way elsewhere.

Such a scenario is highly unlikely, but for the Toffees to be in the same conversation as the big boys is a testament to the way they have gone about their business so far this term, with Townsend and Demarai Gray loving life on Merseyside since their summer arrivals.

The Toffees also boast a perfect record of three wins from their first three home games of the Premier League season - scoring eight goals in that rich vein of form - but not since the 1978-79 season have Everton won their first four at home.

The Europa League fatigue may now be starting to kick in for this West Ham side, as while they continue to produce the goods in continental competition, their domestic fortunes appear to have taken quite the hit in recent weeks.

The Hammers were 1-0 down after 20 minutes against Brentford as Bryan Mbeumo struck the game's opening goal before Jarrod Bowen levelled proceedings in the 80th minute, but the Bees' super sub Yoane Wissa once again came off the bench to produce late heroics in the fourth minute of injury time to settle the contest.

With only one win to boast from their last five in the Premier League, David Moyes's side have now dropped to ninth in the rankings and are three points behind their fifth-placed opponents as things stand, but 14 goals scored is by far the highest outside of the top five.

In spite of their underwhelming top-flight results, the Hammers can certainly take confidence from their EFL Cup run and Europa League results, and they also travel to Goodison Park on a six-game unbeaten run away from home in the Premier League - scoring 12 goals in that impressive streak.

West Ham had a New Year's Day to remember last year as Tomas Soucek's late goal saw them win 1-0 at Goodison Park, but Everton gained revenge with a 1-0 success of their own in the capital in May, and Moyes's side have won just one of their last six with the Scot's former club in all competitions.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United's new era begins on the pitch at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon, as the Magpies welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Tyneside in the Premier League.

The hosts lost 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of the Mike Ashley era, while Spurs claimed a confidence-boosting 2-1 win over Aston Villa.

After 14 years of fan frustration, constant exit calls and a gloomy mood at St James' Park, Ashley's controversial reign at Newcastle United has come to an end, with the Saudi-backed £300m takeover going through during the recent international break.

Unsurprisingly, the Magpies are already being linked with a host of big names - from Philippe Coutinho to Kalidou Koulibaly – but the future of the man in the dugout will be the first difficult decision that the club’s new owners have to make.

While there is a general expectation that Steve Bruce’s time at St James’ Park is limited, the 60-year-old is set to remain at the helm for Saturday’s clash – his 1,000th game as a manager – and he will hope to oversee his fired-up side produce their performance of the season in front of a jubilant set of supporters.

Results just have not been coming for Newcastle so far this term, as a pair of Hwang Hee-chan strikes either side of Jeff Hendrick’s effort saw Wolves beat the Magpies 2-1 on October 2, and they sit 19th in the table as one of four sides yet to claim a win in the 2021-22 campaign.

Newcastle suffering relegation after becoming one of the richest clubs in the world would be some story indeed, and fans will not be expecting a change in fortunes overnight, especially with the Magpies winning just three of their last 16 Premier League games on home soil.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s record in London derbies is already looking bleak following three successive defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal last month, but the Lilywhites managed to claim a crucial win over Aston Villa just before the international break.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put Spurs 1-0 up before half time before Ollie Watkins levelled proceedings midway through the second period, but Matt Targett’s own goal four minutes after his teammate’s leveller saw Santo’s rut in the Premier League come to a welcome end.

A comprehensive 5-1 thrashing of NS Mura in the Europa Conference League – during which Harry Kane bagged a hat-trick – also helped to boost morale within the North Londoners ranks, and a record of three wins from their last four in all tournaments is a positive streak for Spurs on the face of it.

However, the Lilywhites can only boast a dismal five wins from their last 18 Premier League games away from home – conceding at least twice in six of their last seven on the road – and nothing can be taken for granted against a Newcastle side buoyed by the support of a raucous St James’ Park crowd.

Both games between Newcastle and Tottenham last season finished level, but the Lilywhites have come up trumps in five of their last seven clashes at St James’ Park and have not failed to score on the Magpies’ turf in any competition since 2005.

•Based on reports by Sports Mole. PHOTO: Celebrating Newcastle players

Source Daily Sports

Posted October 17, 2021

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