Everton will finally be facing some Premier League opposition in their League Cup campaign on Wednesday night as they welcome West Ham to Goodison Park.
Hopes for a first trophy since 1995 will begin to drastically rise if they can manage another victory.
After beating Salford City and Fleetwood Town in the previous rounds Everton will be hoping to continue their impressive start to the competition and season in general.
They will be facing a West Ham side who have a mixed start to the campaign, and they will also be without manager David Moyes who unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19.
The Hammers were without him on the weekend as they faced Wolves and won 4-0, make of that what you will. The expectation is that both West Ham and Everton will make changes to their sides but not too many due to a serious chance of silverware.
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti picked a relatively strong starting eleven in the last round which saw key men Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin start as well as first choice goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. With the game this time being against top division opposition Ancelotti may go strong yet again.
The Italian has left out star player James Rodriguez in the previous rounds electing to instead start Gylfi Sigurdsson who did not let the side down with decent performances so the same may happen again.
Rodriguez will be needed on the weekend to face Brighton and Hove Albion so it remains to be seen if he will be picked for the mid-week game which is also the case for Allan as injuries so early on in their Everton careers would be a travesty.
One player who would be expected to start is winger turned midfielder Bernard. A man of the match performance last time out did not go unnoticed amongst supporters. He scored one and assisted one whilst running the show in the centre of the park which may be his new role going forward instead of on the wing.
Another player who Everton supporters will be excited to see his lively Niels Nkounkou. The left-back, yet to make his Premier League debut, has been given chances in the Carabao Cup and taken them like his life depended on it. Splendid all-round performances in both games has left everyone thinking that The Toffees have discovered a hidden gem.
On Wednesday night he may have the chance to further prove himself against a side who will look to expose him due to his inexperience.
There have been no reports of fresh injuries from Everton however The Blues still have a shortage at centre back which could yet again see Luca Digne fill in there.
For West Ham they one new injury concern as Ryan Fredericks was subbed off against Wolves due to a hamstring issue meaning he will not be available for selection. Neither will Issa Diop and Josh Cullen who like David Moyes are self-isolating.
Ancelotti and his side will be wanting another reason to be singing Spirit of the Blues with a sixth win on the bounce.
Supporters will be getting giddy and rightly so.
Written by Elliot Thompson
