Fantasy Football: Everton to extend 'formidable' home streak against West Ham

Richard Lenton is an experienced journalist and broadcaster. He was the editor of the critically-acclaimed but rarely bought Football Punk magazine in the UK, before heading to Singapore to present live football coverage on Mio TV. www.richardlenton.co.uk Twitter: @richardlenton

Pick of the weekend: Everton to beat West Ham
Making sense of the statistics to come up with a Premier League dead cert

West Ham may have won their last four matches in impressive fashion, but that run is set to end at Fortress Goodison Park this weekend.

Everton have won ten and lost only one of their last 16 home games against West Ham in the Premier League, and their form against sides from eighth downwards has been ruthless this season.

Eight successive wins against the relegation-threatened sides, including the likes of Newcastle and Southampton, suggest that the Toffees should be too strong for Sam Allardyce’s improving Irons.

Allardyce faces a big dilemma in attack now that record signing Andy Carroll is available following his controversial three-match ban. However, with Carlton Cole in fine form and Kevin Nolan banging in the goals, he may just leave the big man on the bench.

In the last four months, West Ham’s only two away victories have come against a Cardiff side who look doomed to a swift return to the Championship, and Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa who have won only once at home in their previous eight games.

Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas have both netted two goals apiece in their previous two matches against the Hammers, so they will fancy their chances of nicking a goal in what is likely to be a low scoring game.

West Ham have kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League team this season, but the Toffees are capable of producing the odd moment of magic that can secure all three points and extend their formidable run at Goodison Park to 16 wins and just one defeat from 22 EPL matches.

Selection dilemmas
Helping you choose the right players for your Yahoo Fantasy Premier League team

Considering he’s a regular in the Spurs defence, attacking full-back Danny Rose is reasonably well priced at £9.5m in Yahoo Fantasy Football.

The England hopeful has notched up 71 points from his 13 games thus far, and will be hoping for a real surge in form in the final months of the campaign as he aims to sneak his way into Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad.

Only 0.25% of Yahoo Fantasy managers have the 23-year-old in their squads, so he’s the sort of player who, if he comes good, could help you steal a march on your rivals.

This weekend Spurs entertain a Cardiff side who were woeful last time out when they were rolled over embarrassingly easily by Hull. A 4-0 defeat on their home patch suggests that Cardiff are in real trouble, and Spurs should be able to take advantage.

Cardiff have won one and lost eight of their last 11 Premier League encounters, and, although I suggested last week that Wilfried Zaha and Kenwyne Jones had the quality to keep them in the top flight, they looked like a doomed outfit against the Tigers.

Cardiff have failed to score in six of their previous eight matches, and I don’t fancy them registering at White Hart Lane, where Spurs have kept three clean sheets in their last four EPL games. Rose is capable of picking up some useful points.