It’s been a messy start to the Premier League season for West Ham United.

The Hammers will enter Monday night’s contest at Everton in 19th-place with just one win against four losses through their first five matches.

The sluggish start cost Graham Potter his job, and the club has confirmed that it has hired Nuno Espirito Santo to take over as manager on a permanent basis.

Another one of the club’s former managers, David Moyes, is in charge of Everton, who have enjoyed a decent start to the campaign.

In fact, Moyes has managed both of these clubs on two separate occasions. He was previously in charge of Everton between 2002 and 2013, and he was on the sidelines for West Ham between 2017-18 and then again from 2019 to 2024.

A win on Monday would put Everton on 10 points from six matches, which would vault them right into the mix at the top of the Premier League table.

This season has yet to feature any runaway contenders, and the Toffees have played well enough to fancy their chances of nabbing a European spot if they continue to steadily progress under Moyes.

Everton’s defensive work has been superb, allowing just five goals and 6.8 expected goals (xG) through their first five matches, which included tussles with Brighton and Liverpool, two of the standout offensive teams this season.

West Ham’s defensive metrics aren’t on the same level as Everton’s, but their 13 goals allowed belie the actual quality of their play.

No team is giving up more goals per match than the Hammers (2.6), but they’re closer to the middle of the pack in terms of xG conceded per game (1.5).

Nuno’s first order of business will be to stop the Hammers from leaking goals, and that should lead to a more organized approach, starting with Monday’s trip to Liverpool to take on the Toffees.

This one feels like it could be a snoozer, putting value on the Under 2.5.

The Play: Under 2.5 (-115, FanDuel)

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.