(Football news) Recent events have given both sides reason to celebrate: the Toffees’ point deduction was lowered on appeal, and the Hammers finally secured their first victory of 2024 on their ninth try.
Everton, who were docked the most points in Premier League history, saw their 10-point punishment for breaking the Profit and Sustainability Rules lowered to six in midweek. Everton had jumped up two spots in the Premier League rankings without ever using a ball.
While Everton has temporarily regained four of their hard-earned points, they are still in danger of receiving a second PSR charge penalty, so Sean Dyche’s team is not quite out of the woods yet. Nevertheless, Everton has gone past Brentford and Nottingham Forest.
The hosts’ points column now reads 25 thanks to their respectable 1-1 draw versus Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, where much-coveted defender Jarrad Branthwaite added a few more pounds to his value with a stunning opener, but his opposite number Lewis Dunk struck deep into added time for the 10-man Seagulls.
With there being no repeat of last season’s 5-1 Amex annihilation, Everton’s winless run across all competitions now stands at six matches since January’s FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace, and a nine-game streak without success in the top flight has done their survival prospects no good either.
Five of the hosts’ last six engagements in the Premier League have seen Dyche’s men share the spoils, and an unwanted club record could now be matched by the Toffees, who have previously only gone seven league games without a win at the start of a year in 1989 and 2004.
Fans of West Ham could sympathize with their Everton counterparts until Monday night regarding their miserable streaks without a win in the Premier League. However, following eight games without a win in 2024, the Irons dealt their first blows of the New Year to a deteriorating Brentford team.
In a thrilling 4-2 victory, Emerson Palmieri’s 25-yard blast guaranteed that Neal Maupay and Yoane Wissa’s efforts would be in vain. Jarrod Bowen became the first West Ham player to score a Premier League hat-trick at the London Stadium, completing his first senior treble in just over an hour.
Also read: Chelsea will play Brentford in EPL
