Mark Lawrenson predicts outcome of Everton clash v West Ham United in Premier League
Mark Lawrenson believes Frank Lampard’s woes will continue when Everton travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday (21 January).
The Toffees have gone from bad to worse in recent weeks, as they fell to a 2-1 loss to fellow relegation rivals Southampton at Goodison Park last time out and subsequently plummeted into the relegation zone.
Everton face a West Ham side who are also in dire straights, and a loss for either Lampard or David Moyes could prove terminal for their jobs going into the second half of the season.
Former BBC Sport Pundit Lawrenson told Paddy Power he thought the “home advantage” for West Ham could be the deciding factor in the match – predicting Everton to lose the game 2-1.
He said: “Both of these are struggling, West Ham haven’t won in the league for a while.
“This might just come down to West Ham having home advantage. The whole situation at Everton is a mess with the directors being told to stay away and all the protests.
“The problems go back years and they’ve just messed the whole club up.”
Season defining
The magnitude of this match for both sides can’t quite be put into words.
Both Everton and West Ham are two clubs who look so far out of place in the relegation zone, but you can’t say either team have deserved much better after their dire starts to the season.
The toxic atmosphere surrounding Goodison Park in recent weeks has clearly transferred onto the pitch, and losing crucial matches to Wolves and Southampton shows the magnitude of the job Lampard faces.
Despite desperately needing attacking reinforcements this month, the club are yet to bring any fresh faces through the Goodison Park gates so far. This lack of activity could prove terminal for Lampard as he simply doesn’t have the tools to propel Everton away from the clutches of relegation.
The affair will certainly be low scoring, considering both teams’ struggles in front of goal, and a goalless draw could by no means be out of the equation.