West Ham United vs. Everton – English Premier League, May 9, 2021

The holy grail of a top-four finish is still very much on for West Ham as it prepares to face Everton on Sunday.

The Merseyside club started the season in very good form and looked as though it might trouble the Champions League places itself at one point. But a disappointing 2021 has made any European qualification a much tougher task.

BetOnline has decided to price this a little closer than I would have expected, and that gives some value to a home win bet.

With West Ham looking to qualify for the Champions League, there will be a lot of pressure on the players – but a Hammers victory is certainly not out of the question.

The surprise return of Michail Antonio on Monday’s game against Burnley made all the difference, as he scored both West Ham goals in a 2-1 win. He caused the home defense problems throughout the game and could not be stopped by the Burnley back line.

It was a very good performance from David Moyes’ side, coming back from an early goal and managing to turn the fixture back to its favor within ten minutes of Chris Wood’s penalty.

Everton lost its first game in five at home to Villa at the weekend and is now fighting to stay in contention for a Europa League place. Results at Goodison Park have been terrible since the turn of the year and are a big factor in why the Toffees now look like finishing the season outside the top seven.

The good news is that Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored again after what had been a quiet few months. His initial injury and then lower strike rate have been further reasons for the downward turn. But Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that James Rodriguez will be fit for this one after limping out of the warm-up before the Villa game.

The odds are not brilliant, but anything positive for West Ham has to be considered a good value wager here. With Antonio back on the pitch, the Hammers stand a very good chance of finishing in the top four and should be able to see off an Everton side that has fallen away in the last few months.

Even the continued absence of Declan Rice should not stop David Moyes from celebrating another victory here.