Football: Cup trip to West Ham should hold no fears for Everton

Roberto Martinez
Roberto Martinez
If there was one place Everton fans would want to visit to kick-start their season with a win it would probably be the Boleyn Ground of West Ham United, where the teams meet in an FA Cup third-round replay.

Everton have a fantastic record against West Ham, particularly in London. The Toffees have won 10 and drawn five of their last 15 meetings home and away and have lost at Upton Park only twice in 16 years, the last time in 2007.

"We always enjoy going to Upton Park and with our sold-out allocation once again, it's one we look forward to," manager Roberto Martinez said of the clash to be attended by 3000 Evertonians following the 1-1 draw on Merseyside.

That deserved result, snatched with a stoppage-time goal by Romelu Lukaku, gave the side a real confidence boost which helped them to another 1-1 Goodison draw against Manchester City which ended a run of four straight Premier League defeats.

"This week has been really positive for us," Martinez told reporters on Monday.

"In the way we are as a team, we're very similar to where we were two weeks ago but from a psychological point of view we are getting confident again.

"The performance against Manchester City has given us a lot of belief. That's important but we're facing a West Ham side that are strong.

"They have a real variety of personnel that can be played in different systems. That's made them a difficult side to face."

West Ham also drew 1-1 on Saturday, away to Swansea, their third 1-1 in a row, and have not won a match since beating Leicester City 2-0 on December 20.

The winners face League One (third tier) opposition, away to Doncaster Rovers or Bristol City, in the fourth round after they also drew 1-1 in their third-round match.

 

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