West Ham's new boss Nuno Espirito Santo is relishing the challenge as he prepares to oversee his first game in charge against Everton on Monday.
The Hammers parted company with Graham Potter on Saturday, after only winning one of their first six games of the season in all competitions.
After losing 2-1 in a London derby against Crystal Palace last week, West Ham are sitting near the foot of the Premier League table in 19th, with only Wolves making a worse start.
Nuno joins after being sacked by Nottingham Forest earlier this month, with West Ham becoming the fourth club he has managed in the Premier League, after Tottenham, Wolves and Forest.
"It feels good. I’m very happy to be here. I'm honoured and ready to work. I’m glad to face the challenge," said Nuno during his unveiling.
"First of all, what is important is that now we know each other, mainly us, the squad, the players. This is what is more important now. We are here working. We started yesterday, realising that this is a big, big club.
"There are expectations, but before all the expectations, all the achievements that we desire, that we want to do, we must create a platform of knowledge, of coming closer to the fans, the team and the fans. And from there we can start building."
Meanwhile, Everton have enjoyed a solid start to their campaign, having registered two wins and a draw in their last four games.
That said, David Moyes’ side lost in the league last time out, falling to a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, before exiting the EFL Cup on Tuesday after a 2-0 loss to Wolves.
Everton head into Monday's match having only managed one win in their last five Premier League home meetings with West Ham (D1 L3), with David Moyes present in the dugout for each of those fixtures — once as Everton boss and four times in charge of the Hammers.
"We're really pleased with the way we've started the season. We've done a lot of good things, so we hope we can continue it,” Moyes said during his pre-match press conference.
"We've had good results at the new stadium too, so let's hope we can keep that going."
After leading West Ham to the Conference League title in 2023, Moyes left Monday’s opposition by mutual consent at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
"It's great to see them all. I had a big relationship with so many of the players and staff, and everybody at the club. It was good. We had some great times together," Moyes added.
"They were really good people to work for."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jack Grealish
Grealish has been a player reborn since he made the loan switch to Everton during the recent transfer window. Only Bruno Fernandes (15) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Grealish's 13.
Grealish has also won more fouls than any other player (17), having completed eight of his 19 dribbles so far this term.
West Ham – Callum Wilson
Wilson has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League games against Everton, in the form of four braces. Overall in the competition, he’s only netted more against his current side (12) than he has against the Toffees (eight).
Having featured four times off the bench, he has made a decent impact, with the forward winning 11 of his 23 duels and completing five of his six dribbles so far.
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON WIN
Everton have lost just two of their 12 Premier League home matches (four wins, six draws) since Moyes' return. The Toffees are also aiming to keep a clean sheet in each of their first three home games of a season for the first time since 1987-88.
Since the start of 2021, West Ham have only recorded more Premier League victories against Wolves (six) than they have against Everton (five). However, both league meetings between the Hammers and Everton last season ended in draws.
Everton have yet to concede a goal at their new home, Hill Dickinson Stadium, winning 2-0 against Brighton and drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa.
Only Swansea City (at Swansea.com Stadium) and Tottenham (at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) have kept clean sheets in each of their opening three home league games at their new home grounds.
West Ham's former boss Potter had the worst Premier League loss rate of any permanent manager in their history, losing 12 of 23 games (52%) before his departure earlier this week. Despite this, the Hammers have been in good form on the road recently, winning three of their last four away matches (with one defeat).
So far this season, West Ham have conceded 13 goals despite an expected goals against (xGA) total of 7.8, meaning they have allowed five more goals than expected – the largest negative xG difference in the Premier League to date.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton – 52.8%
Draw – 24.2%
West Ham – 23.1%
