Everton v West Ham: Toffees to hold firm against woeful travellers

As David Moyes prepares to lead Everton out at Goodison Park for the final time, the chances of him achieving the type of stingy victory that has defined his Toffees tenure appear strong.

It is 8/15 that the hosts see off West Ham, who, despite improvement over the past few weeks, are languishing in mid-table obscurity with little to play for.

The fact that the Hammers have won only three times on the road all season should be enough to deter punters from their 5/1 price to succeed, whilst their dismal scoring record this term suggests they could fall with a whimper on Merseyside.

Indeed, no side across all four English divisions has registered less away league goals than West Ham’s 11, and so Everton may be primed for an 11th seasonal clean sheet at 21/20.

But for added value, backing the Toffees to prevail from a match in which they don’t concede looks a sensible 7/5 call, especially as such a bet would have paid off in each of the Blues’ last four home league games.

Also, early strikes have proved a prominent feature of those past four games, with Everton transforming a half-time lead into a full-time triumph during each of them, and in six of their last seven Goodison Park outings.

All of their last five home games have followed this pattern too, so the 11/10 odds that further repetition of those circumstances occurs look worthy of investment.

And an abundance of realistic goalscorer candidates can be backed at hefty prices here, with the Toffees tending to distribute goals throughout their team this year.

Top scorer Marouane Fellaini is a 7/1 chance, with seven-goal Victor Anichebe, enjoying a run in the side at the out-of-form Nikica Jelavic’s expense, a better 11/2 shot than his Croatian counterpart at the same price.

Of other Everton players with seven goals to their name this term meanwhile, Kevin Mirallas is a 7/1 prospect to open the scoring, whilst Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines can be backed at 9/1 and 12/1 respectively.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.