Credit: Imago

James Barker

Wed 22 April 2026 7:40, UK

Nuno Espirito Santo should revert to a back three formation for West Ham United‘s game against Everton on Saturday.

West Ham are quickly getting drawn into a two-horse relegation race that they can’t afford to lose.

Nottingham Forest have pulled three clear of the Hammers and a further two from 18th-placed Tottenham respectively, leaving the London rivals increasingly lonely at the bottom.

Nuno’s side are in solid form at the moment though, with only one Premier League defeat from their last five games.

So, with West Ham taking on Everton this Saturday, that presents another big opportunity to put more precious points on the board in front of the London Stadium masses.

Why West Ham should play with a back three vs Everton

A reunion is also in order this weekend, as David Moyes returns to his former stomping ground with his Everton side.

The Toffees are firmly in the race for European football too, and with a dramatic defeat in the Merseyside derby still fresh in their minds, they will be looking to take their frustrations out on West Ham.

Nuno has been setting his West Ham team up in a back four over the majority of the season, and has done so in the recent draw with Crystal Palace and the 4-0 victory over Wolves respectively.

However, he’s also dabbled with a back three at times too, most recently helping his Hammers side mastermind a fantastic 1-1 draw with Manchester City on 14 March.

That’s exactly what Nuno should go back to against Everton this Saturday, as the Toffees’ main threats can largely be found through the middle of the pitch.

United need to stop James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from having the time and space to run the show, as their connection with striker Beto has been growing more productive in recent games too.

Arguably Everton’s best player, Iliman Ndiaye, will operate from the left wing, but the collective danger that their central players pose is where West Ham should target their focus on dulling their cutting edge.

All but two of Everton’s open play goals in the Premier League this season have been scored inside the box, and so defending narrowly and forcing the ball out wide is a sound gameplan.

Wing-backs could work a treat against Everton

West Ham need to be aggressive in the press against Everton, as granting Garner and Dewsbury-Hall time on the ball to do whatever they want with it will see the Hammers get punished.

In that aforementioned draw against Man City, Nuno went with Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Axel Disasi as the three centre-backs, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf as wing-backs.

That’s exactly what he should do again, as despite the fact Kyle Walker-Peters has been getting the nod on the right side of defence recently, Wan-Bissaka’s one-on-one ability could be an ideal solution to the Ndiaye threat.

A 3-4-3 should be in play against Everton, as those three lines of players pose a tough set of defensive walls for the Toffees’ midfield maestros to play through.

On top of that, a front three fanned out across the Toffees’ own defensive line could give the Hammers more opportunities to exploit their vulnerable full-backs in Jake O’Brien and Vitalii Mykolenko respectively, which are Everton’s weak spots.