West Ham United vs Everton. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance56,926.
Sunday 13 May 2018 07:24, UK
Everton will assess the fitness of Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott ahead of their trip to West Ham on the final day of the Premier League season.
Rooney (calf) and Walcott (knee) missed last weekend's draw at home to Southampton but could be in line for a recall, and the former could be making his final Toffees appearance after he was linked with a move to MLS side DC United.
But manager Sam Allardyce confirmed that Rooney has not yet asked to leave the club, saying: "My understanding is there seems to have been some negotiation along the line but as for clarity as to whether Wayne is staying or going we'll see later on.
"I'm comfortable with any player who wants to leave but let's get this clear. Wayne Rooney has not asked to leave and neither has Wayne Rooney had a confrontation with me. We have not been in any difficult situations with me. We are two adults and we talk."
West Ham manager David Moyes will be coming up against his former side on Sunday. The Scot has lost all five of his Premier League games against Everton since he left by an aggregate score of 12-0.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has still not recovered from a knee operation two months ago and will not feature for Everton but Mason Holgate, who has not played since mid-March because of an ankle injury, could be included in the squad.
West Ham could still be without Javier Hernandez for their final Premier League game of the season. The Mexico striker has missed the last two games with a knee problem and is likely to be absent again, with manager Moyes keen to give January signing Jordan Hugill a run-out.
Hernandez is the only fitness concern for the Hammers boss, who could bring Pedro Obiang and James Collins back into his squad after their own respective spells on the sidelines.
West Ham have won just one of their last 19 Premier League meetings with Everton (D6 L12), winning 3-2 at Goodison Park in March 2016.
Indeed, Everton are unbeaten in their last nine away league games against the Hammers (W6 D3) since a 1-0 loss in April 2007.
After a run of five consecutive away defeats, Everton are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games on the road (W2 D1). They've not won back-to-back top-flight away games since September 2016, which included a 3-0 win at David Moyes' Sunderland.
Everton have won their final match in 52 different top-flight seasons, three more than any other side.
However, the Scotsman has won seven of his last eight meetings with Sam Allardyce in the competition (L1), including each of his last five in a row.
Only against Newcastle (15) has Wayne Rooney scored more Premier League goals than he has vs West Ham (14), with the veteran netting his first Everton hat-trick in the reverse fixture in November.
Everton have won just one of their last 14 away Premier League games in London (D6 L7), winning 1-0 at Crystal Palace in January 2017, who were managed at the time by Sam Allardyce.
It depends what teams the managers put out but when I was playing for nothing on the final game of the season, I went out there and expressed myself.
They've picked up a bit recently, West Ham, and Everton aren't going to score a load of goals away from home. There's still some grumbling against the manager too. Narrow home win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-0
