After being eliminated from the league cup in midweek, West Ham United Women will look to bounce back when they face Everton Ladies in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Toffees are winless in their last three games in all competitions, and after seeing their last two matches postponed due to coronavirus, they will be chomping at the bit to take to the field for the first time in 2022.
Match preview
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West Ham will put their four-game unbeaten league run on the line when they face Everton at the weekend with the Hammers looking to improve on the eighth position that they currently occupy.
Last weekend, Olli Harder's side travelled to the Hive Stadium for a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, and it was a contest that lived up to the hype.
Rosella Ayane gave Spurs the lead, when she scored from the spot before West Ham were reduced to 10 players after Hawa Cissoko received a second yellow card, but the Hammers snatched a point in stoppage time thanks to Kate Longhurst's looping header.
Following that result, West Ham turned their attention towards a League Cup encounter with Chelsea in midweek, but Emma Hayes's side proved to be too strong for their opponents, as a Pernille Harder hat-trick and a Erin Cuthbert strike condemned the Hammers to a 4-2 defeat despite Katerina Svitkova and Halle Houssein finding the net for the East London side.
Their focus will once again turn towards league matters this weekend, and with West Ham yet to lose at home in the league this season, they will be confident of picking up at least a point on Sunday.
After having games against Aston Villa and Chelsea postponed, Everton will finally return to action this Sunday, and they begin 2022 with a trip to the English capital.
The Toffees head into the fixture in ninth place, but a victory on Sunday would see them move level on points with the Hammers.
Jean-Luc Vasseur's side have a mixed record on the road this season, with five of their league away trips resulting in two wins and three defeats.
In the two away league games that the Toffees have found the net, they have gone on to claim three points, while in both of those wins, they have kept clean sheets.
Having snatched a point off West Ham before Christmas with a late Toni Duggan equaliser, Vasseur may be content with another draw from Sunday's contest.
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Team News
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West Ham gave a debut to Emma Snearle last weekend, and the Denmark international is set to start Sunday's encounter.
After serving her one-match suspension in midweek, Cissoko is set to line up in a back three alongside Grace Fisk and Gilly Flaherty.
With two league goals apiece this season, Claudia Walker and Dagny Brynjarsdottir will aim to add to their respective tallies when they start upfront at the weekend.
As for the visitors, they are still without Nicoline Sorensen who is a long-term absentee.
Vasseur brought Anna Anvegard into the starting lineup for Everton's most recent fixture, and the Sweden international is expected to feature in the front three on Sunday alongside Toni Duggan and Izzy Christiansen.
Nathalie Bjorn is likely to keep her place in the Everton backline after starting the last three games for the Toffees.
West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:
Leat; Fisk, Cissoko, Flaherty; Evans, Snerle, Stringer, Svitkova, Longhurst; Walker, Brynjarsdottir
Everton Ladies possible starting lineup:
Brosnan; Sevecke, Bjorn, Geroge, Turner; Graham, Clinton, Galli; Christiansen, Duggan, Anvegard
We say: West Ham United Women 1-1 Everton Ladies
With both teams separated by just three points in the WSL table, we think that this encounter with be a close one and that both sides may be content with settling for a point.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Ham United Women win with a probability of 39.79%. A win for Everton Ladies had a probability of 35.41% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Ham United Women win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.32%) and 2-0 (6.21%). The likeliest Everton Ladies win was 1-2 (8.09%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.6%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that West Ham United Women would win this match.
