Hammers aim to consolidate hopes for Champions League football with win over Everton

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After Leicester’s defeat to Newcastle at the King Power on Friday evening, West Ham and Everton aim to boost their chances of European qualification on Sunday afternoon.

The Hammers are the main challengers to Chelsea and Leicester for the third and fourth qualification spots, David Moyes’ side just three points off the pace ahead of the Blues’ fixture with Manchester City.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees are nine points adrift of a place in Europe’s premiere competition but victory at the London Stadium would increase their chances of securing Europa League qualification for the first year since 2017.

His team, led by 15-goal top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, have enjoyed success on their travels to the capital this campaign. A win against West Ham would secure a fifth win in London, a feat Everton have never achieved before.

The visitors should also be boosted by their form against West Ham in recent seasons, losing just one of their last 12 Premier League matches.

To gain a positive result once more, Everton will have to keep West Ham top scorer Michail Antonio at bay. The English forward has scored nine goals this campaign and hopes to join an exclusive list of Hammers strikers to net double figures in consecutive Premier League seasons.

David Moyes explained the influence of Antonio on the team ahead of the fixture.

“Michail is so important to us and he has been ever since we’ve put him in at centre forward. He was roughly the top goalscorer around those nine games after lockdown and he’s been very good this season too.

“Unfortunately we’ve lost him a few times to injury as well, but he’s back and in good spirits and we’ll hope that form continues to the end of the season.”