The Premier League returns from its two week hiatus this weekend as it enters the final push towards what is set to be an exciting end to the season at both ends of the table, with fights for the title, European places and relegation safety still on.

Two extremes in that sense go up against one another on Sunday afternoon, as West Ham United host Everton at the London Stadium, with the two opposing sides undergoing wildly contrasting campaigns so far.

David Moyes' team will still be living off the high of progressing to the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Europa League (the first leg of which against Lyon takes place next week) going into this one, following a dramatic victory against Sevilla.

That said, while their current European tour might be rolling on for now, they are currently facing an uphill battle in competing for another trip next season, as they look to push for the top six places in the league table.

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard has not had the greatest time in charge of the Toffees since he took over from previous incumbent Rafa Benitez earlier this year, presiding over some rocky form to say the very least.

The Merseyside-based club now find themselves in a relegation battle - a position that would have been unimaginable just a few seasons ago - and will need to fight for points in every game until the end of the season in order to stay up.

Team News

West Ham United

David Moyes told the media before the game: 'There's a chance both of them [Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal] could make it [against Everton]. We've been missing Jarrod for a couple of weeks now, but hopefully he's not too far away.'

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The recent absence of Jarrod Bowen has been a frustrating one for Moyes, given the excellent form the Englishman was in, but Hammers' fans can take some relief in the fact it seems the 25-year-old is now close to making his return.

Apart from that, Moyes has an almost entirely fit squad to pick from, with the manager also confirming that Manuel Lanzini was unhurt after being involved in a car accident on the way to training this week, so the Argentine could feature on Sunday too. 

Everton

Prior to this one, Frank Lampard said: 'Fabian Delph, we're hoping, is another week or so but it's been a slightly complicated injury. Yerry [Mina] should be, hopefully, back with us within the next couple of weeks. Andros Townsend, as we know, is a long-term injury.'

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Unfortunately for Lampard, he has a few players unavailable for selection ahead of this one, including the previously mentioned Fabian Delph who still has a little bit of a way to go yet, judging by the manager's comments.

In better news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be back in the starting eleven, with the England international having struggled to get fully fit enough to have a run of games since Lampard's arrival at Goodison Park

Predicted Lineups

West Ham United (4-3-3):

Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice, Lanzini; Fornals, Antonio, Benrahma

Everton (3-4-3):

Pickford; Holgate, Keane, Godfrey; Coleman, Doucoure, van de Beek, Kenny; Gordon,  Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison

Form Guide

West Ham United

Coming into a game after a fortnight's absence due to an international break can be a blessing or curse, depending on the form the team was in prior to it, so for West Ham they will be wary of the possibility of a drop in performance.

As mentioned, they picked up a huge win in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 16 game, but followed it up at the weekend with a loss to Tottenham Hotspur - they'll hope that was simply a blip and that they can get back to winning ways this weekend.

Everton

Once more there is something of a stark contrast when it comes to looking at Lampard's side in comparison with their upcoming opponents, in that they have been in torrid form, with just two wins in their last seven games.

When you take into account the fact one of those victories was against non-league Boreham Wood, the picture gets even worse, but perhaps the enforced interlude will benefit the Toffees and revitalise them for the last few weeks of this season.

Ones To Watch

Said Benrahma

Given the fact there have been so many standout performers from the East London club so far this season, it is perhaps too harsh to only select a single player for this section, with team spirit evidently a key aspect of David Moyes' philosophy.

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Nevertheless, the showings from Said Benrahma have been extremely impressive at times, and the Algerian seems to now truly be at home in a claret and blue shirt, after a slightly tougher campaign last year.

The winger has scored nine goals in all competitions, as well as notching up six assists too, making him the club's third-highest goal contributor overall - something he has managed even despite getting considerably less minutes than the top two.

Richarlison

As for Everton, there aren't quite as many players who can claim that they have been enjoying a particularly prolific campaign by any standards, but one person who has shown his ability is Richarlison.

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The Brazilian has been at the club for almost four years now, since arriving in July of 2018, and while he may not reach the same goalscoring heights this season as he has in previous years, his contributions have still been important.

Still just 24 years old, he has managed five goals across this campaign, while also providing three assists on top of that - the only downside to his game is his tendency to get booked, with the six yellow cards he has picked up the joint-most out of anyone in the Everton squad.

Previous Five Meetings

As two historic clubs in English football history, there have been no shortage of games between these two sides, the first of which came all the way back in 1907, when Everton came out victorious 2-1 in an FA Cup fixture.

Looking at more recent matchups however, the balance has been much closer, as evidenced by a 1-1 stalemate at the London Stadium back in January 2020, just a couple of months prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Hammers took the lead through Issa Diop, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin hit back just four minutes later for the side then managed by Carlo Ancelotti, and the result remained as it was for the rest of the game.

It took another eight months before they met again, and it was near the beginning of the following campaign, but this time in a different competition, coming in the form of the League Cup rather than a top flight fixture.

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This time it was at Goodison Park, and there was a much more convincing scoreline as the home team came away 4-1 winners, thanks in no small part to a hat trick from the aforementioned Calvert-Lewin.

Next up was a New Years' Day match, once more on Merseyside, and it had the honour of being the first Premier League game played in 2021, not that the eventual scoreline made it one to remember in particular.

A late goal in the 86th minute from Czech Republic national team captain Tomas Soucek gave David Moyes and his team a narrow win, which put them in good stead for the eventual Europa League qualification place they ended up achieving.

That sixth placed finish was almost put in jeopardy in the final few games of the season, as West Ham's form took a slight turn for the worse, including a 1-0 defeat to Ancelotti's men on the 35th match day.

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Once more it was English striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin causing problems, with his 23rd minute strike the difference in an otherwise relatively uneventful game in which the Hammers failed to register a single shot on target.

Finally, a little earlier in this season was the most recent meeting between these two clubs, and it was a West Ham win that inflicted Everton's first home defeat of the season on them - a statistic that feels unbelievable given their current woeful form both home and away.

It was a fairly late goal from Angelo Ogbonna that ended up making all the difference in the end, with the Hammers making it seven away games without defeat after that one - a record they would go on to keep up for another month until losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

How To Watch

For all those wanting to catch this game live on TV in the UK, you can do so by watching Sky Sports Premier League from 1:00 PM BST on Sunday afternoon, when all the pre-match build-up to this game will begin.

Kick-off itself is scheduled for an hour after that programme begins, at 2:00 PM BST and it's set to be an intriguing clash between two teams who go into the final stretch of the season fighting for very different goals.

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