[ad_1]
West Ham United must avoid the trap of looking ahead to their Europa League quarterfinal when they host an Everton side in a Premier League relegation scrap at London Stadium on Sunday.
The current EPL table should provide enough motivation enough for the Hammers. They sit three points behind Tottenham and Manchester United in the battle for Europa League places next season.
Guided by former Everton boss David Moyes, West Ham took a 1-0 win in the previous league fixture back in October. That result began Everton’s miserable ongoing stretch of earning 11 points in 20 games in the English top flight.
Everton is in a weird spot. Metrics suggest the Toffees are playing worse under Frank Lampard than Rafael Benitez, yet the former is decidedly more popular among supporters and the home performances have had a clear emotional bite that they once lacked.
That edge at Goodison Park might be enough to keep the Toffees up, but if they do stay in the EPL, it seems unlikely to be via their away form.
Meanwhile, the Hammers have a renewed home defensive focus. And their last, lopsided 3-1 defeat at Spurs is forgivable. It came less than 72 hours after going extra time in the second leg of their Round of 16 Europa League triumph over La Liga standout Sevilla.
Given all that, the value that exists is on the home side via a moneyline wager. Even if Everton somehow finds a goal, it strains credulity it would find the back of the net twice in this matchup. And the Toffees have conceded multiple goals in every league away trip this season.
Check out the best sports betting sites and apps
Of those away foes, the Hammers are better than all but Spurs. And if they had the Spurs’ branding credibility, it is unlikely they’d be given odds of -130 odds that imply only a 56.5 percent chance of victory.
If you must get more aggressive, the Everton team total of under 0.5 goals at +140 odds and an implied 41.7 percent value is also a solid play. I’m more confident on the ML bet, though.
The play: West Ham United moneyline (-130)
[ad_2]