Everton

Ian Kennedy
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The international break offers a chance to take stock and to look back on an excellent nine-match unbeaten run. Everton were not at their best against West Ham but kept going and got their reward. In fact they might have won it right at the end.

David Moyes rightly says there is work still to be done but the Blues are 17 points clear of trouble, and that is having drawn the past four league games.

Draws can sometimes be damaging, but in Everton's case they have kept things ticking over to some extent. There is a resilience there. It has been a remarkable turnaround, for which Moyes and his players deserve great credit.

Perhaps the best illustration of it all has been the impressive form of Jake O'Brien, who has gone from a centre-back to one of the first names on the teamsheet at right-back.

He loves to get forward and is now scoring goals – that's two in the past three games. What a bonus!

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David Moyes' return sparked an upturn in form that has lifted Everton well clear of relegation trouble in the Premier League.

And it promises to be an emotional end to the season, with only four more home league games left to play at Goodison Park before the Toffees move to their new stadium in the summer.

But is there something else that is slipping under the radar? What is the one thing - good or bad - nobody is talking about in relation to Everton?

Let us know here

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Another game. Another point and nine games unbeaten.

One man who has been pivotal in our upturn in form and fortune has been Jake O'Brien.

A big-money arrival from Lyon last summer, he must have wondered why he signed for the club after being constantly overlooked by Sean Dyche.

As fans, the majority found it baffling that we could spend so much of our limited budget on a player that the manager had reservations about playing.

David Moyes has come in and quickly put said reservations to bed.

Evertonians familiar with the manager's first stunt at the club, will be well aware of how he utilised Joleon Lescott in a full-back role at times.

He has taken the same approach with O'Brien - now a mainstay in the side - and he has taken to the position like a duck to water.

Defensively solid, he has quietly gone about his business, without any fuss or complaint.

The past three games have seen him score two, highlighting the attacking threat he possesses, something he often showed at Lyon. His omission under Dyche was even more confusing given our reliance on scoring goals from set-pieces.

I would fully expect to see him move to his preferred centre-back position next season and rightly so.

I'm sure all Evertonians would love to see him partnered with Jarrad Branthwaite at the heart of the Everton defence at the new stadium on the opening weekend of the season.

A pipedream potentially, but stranger things have happened.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

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BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

@Chrisgill95 on X asked: Some of Tuchel's choices in his first squad were mind-boggling, but what is even more ludicrous is the suggestion Jordan Pickford won't be his number one keeper. Surely Tuchel won't be stupid enough to change for change's sake?

Phil answered: It would be a huge shock should Tuchel decide to change his keeper. And in my opinion a very big mistake.

Jordan Pickford has been outstanding and consistent for England - and Everton - for so many years and has always delivered big performances on the big occasions under Gareth Southgate.

I actually do not believe he has any serious rivals as England's number one keeper. I do not see any current grounds on which that should change.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Everton and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Tony: A game we didn't look like scoring in but yet again we found a way. Jake O'Brien is a fixture in this team now- thanks to David Moyes. He reads the game so well. It bodes well and he is surely a future centre-half legend. Easy next five games to keep this run going!

Danny: Lacking attacking threat and didn't make much of the ball going forward when we had our spells of possession. Beto was never really in the game for us and we failed to get him going and create chances. When West Ham had their spells of possession, they always looked the more dangerous and capitalised with a worthy 1-0 lead. Everton were ultimately fortunate to get a late equaliser in a game that lacked intensity from both teams.

Andy: Back to normal Everton. Plenty of possession work but leave it to the defenders to get the goal. Somebody cheer Beto up so he scores again.

Shez: Did just fine. Just need Iliman Ndiaye, Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin back. A bit of imagination! Bring on the summer! Mohammed Kudus class for West Ham.

West Ham fans

Stephen: Probably a fair result. Defensively better but let down by a lacklustre midfield with too many poor passes and lack of energy. Having said that, it's a hard-fought point.

Steve: Thought it was a fairly even game without too many good chances from either side but, for me, Lucas Paqueta is just a liability. He constantly loses the ball, makes stupid unnecessary fouls, and is always throwing himself to the ground as if poleaxed. Get rid.

Vic: Getting better game by game and once the dead wood has been cut out, this team will flourish under Graham Potter.

David: So far the defence is unrecognisable from when Potter took over but we have to be more robust and not get pushed back. That said, a hard earned point. Well done!

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Ipswich 2-4 Nottingham Forest

• Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford

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Everton boss David Moyes, speaking to BBC Sport: "Brilliant character. Deserved in the end. We did quite well in the first half but didn't create enough chances. Second half Wes Ham started better. We made a few changes, the boys came on and made a difference. We got our reward.

"The two boys who came on played no football. It was difficult to give them more minutes than we did. They both had an impact and we nearly nicked it at the end. Maybe a draw on the day was the right result.

"The crowd are fantastic here. We know we lack quality in areas and are having to improve. If you can't take three, you have to make sure you get one.

"It's good we're beginning to get back to better levels. We know we have to pick up the levels and quality.

"Tomas Soucek is a really good goalscorer. We signed him as a goalscoring midfielder. He's great in both boxes. He's a top lad as well. I'm pleased for him but not for us.

"It was great to see Jake O'Brien get a goal. He's done really well. He's a young centre-back developing at right-back. He's got some really good attributes. What he needs is Premier League experience. He came up against top players today in Bowen and Kudus and did well."

Image source, Getty Images

Everton extended their Premier League unbeaten run to nine games (W4 D5) - the Toffees' longest run without defeat since February 2017 under Ronald Koeman (9).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Everton v West Ham

• Southampton v Wolves

• Ipswich Town v Nottingham Forest - full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Man City v Brighton

• Bournemouth v Brentford (17:30) - full commentary starts on BBC Radio 5 Live Extra

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

I've got to admit I've had some help from my 5 Live colleague Ali Bruce-Ball for some of these predictions.

Ali is my co-host on the Fantasy 606 podcast and he is still upset from when I called him a phony Ipswich fan on here a couple of weeks ago.

I do value his football knowledge, which is why I've got him involved here, but if I get any of these predictions wrong then it is all his fault.

Bruce wants to go with a 1-0 Everton win but I think West Ham will score - Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus are both lively, so I reckon a 2-1 Everton victory is more likely.

Everton are on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league under David Moyes, and I certainly don't see that ending this weekend.

Moyes left West Ham amicably last summer but there will still be a part of him that will want to show them they were wrong for not renewing his contract.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Everton boss David Moyes was "thrilled" to be named the Premier League manager of the month for February but said "a lot of the praise has to go to the players and coaches" for their hard work.

In Friday's news conference, he also answered questions around centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite missing out on being in the England squad and whether he was surprised by Thomas Tuchel's decision.

"He needs to go and play for the under-21s and be the best player again," said Moyes. "They will be the instructions I'll be giving him.

"He doesn't need picking up because he's a young centre-half who is at the early stages of his career."

Ben Ramsdale
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against West Ham United (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Armando Broja could be involved in the squad for the first time since January with Moyes saying he is hopeful the Albania striker could feature from the bench.

• Moyes conceded it will be a "difficult situation" to come up against West Ham for the first time since leaving the club but added that he "has to go and beat them".

• On Jarrad Branthwaite's exclusion from Thomas Tuchel's maiden England squad: "I don't pick the England squad so I can only say that if you're looking across the last six/seven weeks then Jarrad Branthwaite would be up there playing as well as any English centre-back in the country."

• He added: "He has to learn his trade, keep improving and I've told him to go and play really well for the under-21s and show Thomas [Tuchel] that he should have taken him into the squad."

• Moyes was also asked about whether James Tarkowski was unfortunate not to receive a call-up: "I think Tarky has played really well. Maybe the levels we have been playing at would not be something England players would look at. It gives us incentive to get ourselves up and challenging for Europe."

• Finally, he stated that he was "absolutely thrilled" to win the Premier League manager of the month award for February but said a lot of the praise must go to his players and staff who have been brilliant.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news.

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Everton manager David Moyes has won the Premier League's manager-of-the-month award for February.

The Scot, who only returned to the club in January, helped the club remain unbeaten in their five games, picking up nine points in the process.

Wins against Leicester and Crystal Palace as well as battling draws against Brentford, Manchester United and a memorable showing against Liverpool helped pull the Toffees away from the relegation drop zone.

Everton are in 15th with Moyes' former club West Ham the visitors to Goodison Park on Saturday.

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Everton have not scored more than once in any of their past 10 Premier League meetings with West Ham (six goals in total), with the reverse fixture in November finishing 0-0.

West Ham have failed to score in 37.5% of their Premier League games under Graham Potter, compared to 20% under Julen Lopetegui. They also only average just 9.3 shots per game under Potter, compared to 14.6 under Lopetegui in the league.

Everton are considering a summer move for 27-year-old Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff. (Talksport), external

The Blues are also monitoring the progress of 25-year-old Tottenham midfielder Manor Solomon, who is on loan at Leeds United. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Former professional boxer and proud Everton fan Tony Bellew speaks to fellow Blues supporters about the transition from Goodison Park to Bramley Moore on The One Show.

He meets Elle, a tour guide who is the third generation of her family to take people around Everton's home stadium and also takes in the first test event at the shiny new ground.

Watch The One Show on BBC iPlayer

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Gary Lambert

Goodison Park's final season as home to Everton will be documented from a fans' perspective at a photo display at the Museum of Liverpool.

'Goodbye to Goodison' will feature nine photographers from the club's fanbase, showcasing snaps from this season and taking in the relationship between the iconic ground and supporters who congregate around the stadium.

The exhibition runs from 5 April until 21 September and will highlight the well-known chippies, pubs, meeting places and family moments shared during the final campaign.

Chris Wardle, co-curator and contributor to Goodbye to Goodison, said: "While a lot of attention is focused on the pitch for Goodison Park's final season, I wanted to shift our focus to the pre-game experiences and moments that, to me, make this old ground so special.

"The display celebrates the streets, landmarks and establishments that have become an extension of the ground over the years.

"We're lucky, as a fanbase, to have a talented group of photographers who have taken it upon themselves to document Goodison's legacy from their own perspective.

"I am excited to showcase the work of these photographers and pay tribute to one of the great stadiums in world football."

Image source, Chris Wardle

Image source, Lewis Guy

Image source, Brian Sayle