In his most recent edition of his weekly BBC Sport Predict the Scores column, Mark Lawrenson has predicted a tight game between Everton and West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers go into the game at Goodison Park on the back of a three game winning streak in all competitions. They beat Chelsea 2-1 last time out in the EFL Cup after winning two Premier League games 1-0 both times against Crystal Palace and Sunderland respectively.
Meanwhile, Everton, after starting well this season, have dropped points in recent weeks with last weekend’s game seeing Burnley take all three points at Turf Moor in the closing stages of the match.
It’s these runs of form that Mark Lawrenson refers to in his piece, and it’s also those which lead him to predicting a close game indeed between the two sides. The former Liverpool defender says: “Everton made a strong start to the season while West Ham’s problems were well documented, but things are very different on recent form. The Toffees have only taken two points from their last four league games and also went out of the EFL Cup. If you include Wednesday’s victory over Chelsea in the same competition, the Hammers have won three in a row and drew the one before that. So one team has gone five games without a win, the other four without a defeat. Bearing that in mind, I am going for a draw.”
Lawrenson is backing a 1-1 draw between the two teams this weekend as Slaven Bilic’s men begin to gather momentum.
