Key events
The teams!
West Ham: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson Palmieri, Alvarez, Soucek, Kudus, Soler, Summerville, Bowen.
Subs: Areola, Cresswell, Coufal, Lucas Paqueta, Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Todibo.
Wolves: Johnstone, Lemina, Bueno, Toti Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Andre Trindade, Joao Gomes, Doherty, Cunha, Ait Nouri, Larsen.
Subs: Bentley, Hwang, Dawson, Rodrigo Gomes, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Goncalo Guedes, Pedro Lima.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire)
Preamble
Last week, a struggling side near the bottom of the table faced Wolves at home … and came through to win 4-0. How Everton needed that victory, particularly when you consider the Toffees’ next three games are against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, with the re-arranged Merseyside derby also surely in the not-too-distant future.
A good win for Everton, but a bad defeat for Wolves, who remain 19th. Their festive run is not nearly so difficult as Everton, although the upcoming games against West Ham, Leicester and Ipswich before Christmas are arguably more important in deciding whether Wolves will avoid relegation come the end of the season.
West Ham, despite appointing Julen Lopetegui in the summer and spending well over £100m in the transfer market, are another club nervously looking over their shoulder. Performances have fluctuated wildly of late, and the job security of both Lopetegui and Wolves’ Gary O’Neil remains in the balance. Some have even gone to far as to label tonight’s game as ‘El Sackico’.
Much of the focus before this match has understandably been on Michail Antonio, the West Ham forward who was involved in a horrific car crash on Saturday. After initial concerns that it could have been a lot worse, it was a relief to hear the 34-year-old was “conscious and communicating” as he was taken to hospital. Antonio had surgery on a broken leg on Sunday, and is expected to be out for at least a year, although it remains unclear if the Jamaica international will play again. It is bemusing whether to feel devastated or relieved for Antonio but the accident will surely have sent shockwaves around the West Ham squad, of which the striker was such a big part.
Regardless of the Antonio news, this is a huge game for West Ham and their manager. Oh, and a big one for Wolves and Gary O’Neil, too.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
