View: 82.9% Everton ace holds key to destroy West Ham as player ruled out

Everton hold the key with Iliman Ndiaye to really hurt West Ham United this Saturday as they reel from the suspension of Edson Alvarez.

Alvarez was sent off for Julen Lopetegui’s frustrated Hammers during their dismal 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest on 2 November.

It means the Mexican midfielder will miss the weekend clash with the Toffees [9 November], and will significantly scupper their strategy to stop Iliman Ndiaye.

Ndiaye has been arguably Everton’s best performer this season, and where Alvarez’s game excels is to prevent direct, ball-carrying operators such as Dyche’s summer signing from Marseille.

Iliman Ndiaye can be the key Everton man to take apart West Ham

For all Everton’s struggles so far this season, whether or not that be self-inflicted, they prepare to take on a West Ham side whose fans are already putting head coach Lopetegui under immense pressure as an exciting transfer window has fallen flat.

And the Irons’ lack of Alvarez – who tends not to always be first-choice – could be detrimental when Ndiaye is on the prowl, as his best football is to halt the likes of the Senegalese during their direct progression up the pitch.

This season, Alvarez has executed more defensive actions in the past 365 days than 95% of players in his position in Europe’s top leagues [Fotmob].

FBRef data shows that so far in 2024-25, he has pulled off an average of 4.22 combined tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes of play, superior to every regular in the squad except Guido Rodriguez (4.32).

He has also lost just 0.22 challenges per 90 minutes this term, compared to teammates Carlos Soler (2.22), Rodriguez (1.6) and Mohammed Kudus (0.95).

In the Everton camp, Sean Dyche will be hoping to once again unleash Ndiaye to excellent effect, a player who has completed 76 successful take-ons in the past year and leads the way in progressive carries for his side with 33 just this season [FBRef].

This towers over the direct effect on the ball of any of his Toffees teammates, Dwight McNeil (20) and then Jack Harrison (17) the only others in Dyche’s squad totalling double figures for this statistic.

The 24-year-old’s dribble success is mixed at just 40.5% [Fotmob], but is testament to his daring direct nature which is dwindling from the Premier League these days; his pass accuracy of 82.9% is also middling but is a sign that his play in possession is high-risk, high-reward.

The backroom staff at Finch Farm will be drilling Ndiaye with a degree of excitement at taking potential advantage of West Ham’s lack of a man whose strongest attributes come in cancelling out exactly what he boasts in his locker. Play it right, and Ndiaye could run riot and be decisive for Everton.

In other Everton news, a former Hammer slams Tim Steidten for signing Niclas Fullkrug.

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