Michael Ball shares what Sean Dyche must do for West Ham v Everton in ‘Toxic’ verdict
Michael Ball believes Sean Dyche needs to become more unpredictable with the choices he makes about his Everton squad if he wants to improve his chances of beating West Ham on Saturday.
The Toffees and the Hammers have both underperformed this season with the Merseyside outfit sitting 16th in the Premier League, while Julen Lopetegui’s men reside in 14th.
Writing for the Liverpool ECHO (5 November), former Everton man Ball shared his thoughts on the Toffees’ chances against West Ham and urged the visitors to make things “toxic” at the London Stadium.
“West Ham United is now a huge game for Everton because of the previous two matches,” Ball wrote.
“They’ve got some top-quality players who can hurt you, but they’ve been struggling and their new manager doesn’t seem to be fitting in well.
“We’ve got to go there and get a result. Let’s try and force them into errors, rather than sitting back, and make it a toxic atmosphere for the hosts.
“Sean Dyche needs to be less obvious with his substitutions. We could probably write out what they’re going to be now before the game kicks off, we know what’s going to happen.
“It’s all too predictable. Make it harder for Julen Lopetegui, he’s going through a difficult time, do I trust Dyche to make it difficult for them? I don’t, but he needs to find a way.
“Let’s not let West Ham off the hook. Everton need to kick them while they’re down”.
Sean Dyche could help save his Everton job by beating West Ham
Dyche’s name has been under constant scrutiny throughout the entirety of the 2024/25 season.
Everton had an abysmal start to the campaign but a run of five games unbeaten at least turned the tide before a poor performance last time resulted in a poor 1-0 reverse at strugglers Southampton.
It means there is now a big onus on taking three points down in the capital on Saturday and heading into the international break with some much-needed momentum.
The Hammers are another one of the Premier League’s teams who haven’t fulfilled their fans’ expectations this season and will also be looking for a win.
If the Toffees triumph and as long as other results go their way, they could find themselves moving at least a few spots up the table.
A win could help start Everton on another unbeaten streak and perhaps allow Dyche to have more time to prove his worth to the clubs’ new incoming owners.
In other Everton news, Dermot Gallagher has shared what VAR said about Beto’s offside goal at St Marys.
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