David Moyes believes Everton will be able to fight their way out of their relegation troubles despite a 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Sunday afternoon. The Blues were beaten by goals from Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen either side of a deflected Mason Holgate equaliser.
Defeat at the London Stadium leaves Frank Lampard's side with the worst away form in the Premier League and teetering above the relegation zone ahead of a crucial clash at Burnley on Wednesday night. Despite the precarious position his former club find themselves in, however, the now-Hammers manager thinks they will be fine this season.
Moyes in particular believes that Everton's talent at the top end of the pitch will be enough to see them clear of danger, despite the Blues struggling to score goals in recent weeks.
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He remarked: "I think they'll be ok. When you have the quality in the forward players that Everton have got, I think it gives you a great chance.
"A Brazil centre-forward, and England centre-forward, they've got players in the wide areas who can score goals as well. So I think Everton have got a lot of things going for them, I think they should feel more positive about it.
"I understand, I've been there recently and not stayed up with Sunderland. I've been there a couple of times with West Ham when I have - but it's not a good place to be.
"I think Everton have got quality in some areas that other clubs won't have."
The Blues lined up in a 4-1-4-1 system from the start on Sunday afternoon, with Mason Holgate stepping into defensive midfield just a few minutes before kick off following an injury to Donny van de Beek. The Dutch international will have a quadriceps issue assessed in the coming days.
Despite seeing Everton line up with a five-man defence in recent matches, Moyes has explained that he wasn't surprised in the setup they used this weekend. However, he admitted the changes in Lampard's thinking could have caused issues.
"No it [Everton's four-man defence] didn't surprise us. They played against Southampton with a 4-4-2, they played against Newcastle with a 4-3-3 or something like that," Moyes added.
"Everton actually caused us problems because we didn't know how they were going to line up. It could have been a five or a four [in defence], but my feeling was that Everton would line up with a four.
"Obviously they've got injuries as well, even with Van de Beek not being available at the last minute. Small things can happen and they can affect your team."
