Everton confirmed XI v West Ham: Anthony Gordon benched, Seamus Coleman missing
Frank Lampard’s Everton starting XI has been confirmed for the Premier League trip to face former Toffees boss David Moyes’ West Ham.
The side badly need points to stave off the looming threat of relegation as they currently sit in 17th and only three points above the drop zone, but the away form has been dismal.
Lampard has made a major call that sees star performer Anthony Gordon dropped to the bench, and captain Seamus Coleman is not in the squad as part of four changes.
Jordan Pickford is in goal, behind a defence of Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey in the centre and Jonjoe Kenny and Vitalii Mykolenko at full-back.
Donny van de Beek is back in midfield, alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure and Alex Iwobi.
Demarai Gray and Richarlison support main striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in attack.
Heavy week
The Hammers clash is the first of three games in a week that could go a long way to determining the team’s fate.
A positive result at the London Stadium would set Lampard’s men up well for a massive relegation six-pointer against Burnley on Wednesday (6 April).
The manager confirmed that Fabian Delph and Yerry Mina are still not fit to feature yet, with the defensive absentee continuing to be a huge loss.
A two-week break from Premier League action for internationals could have been just what was needed for some of the squad, although Allan is suspended after his red card against Newcastle.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin especially has been struggling to reach full fitness and hasn’t scored since he returned to the team.
Fans will hope that the break will have allowed space for focus to be renewed on the relegation fight, the importance of which really cannot be overstated.
Watford and Burnley both lost again yesterday, while Leeds picked up a point, so Everton’s games in hand do look comforting.
They aren’t worth anything if they aren’t converted into points though, and a start in the capital would be a big help.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell says “unfinished business” kept today’s opposing boss Moyes from coming back to Goodison.
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