Tomas Soucek has regularly been trusted by Graham Potter to add some steel to the Hammers, who were a bit lightweight under previous boss Julen Lopetegui. Soucek has featured in every game under Potter’s tenure so far with the former Brighton and Chelsea boss looking to make the most out of Soucek’s ability and presence in the box.

Soucek has drawn a foul in each of his last five Premier League appearances, indicating that Potter’s aim to make West Ham more difficult to break down in the middle of the park is working. Soucek’s frame allows him to be quite dominant in duels, particularly in aerial duels which aids his fouls won record in the Premier League this season. Soucek has been brought down 21 times across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (0.95 per 90).

Everton will match West Ham for numbers in the middle of the park which should create plenty of physical battles with each player having a direct opponent. Given that Soucek is the most likely of the West Ham midfield to get forward, he’ll be pitted up against Idrissa Gana Gueye who is averaging 1.69 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this campaign. Soucek contested 14 duels and was fouled once in the initial meeting between these sides.

James Garner’s return to the Everton midfield just allows the Toffees to be a bit more expansive on the ball. Everton’s midfield has been tough to play through all season but has been missing that extra element when Everton do have possession, to be able to break down the opposition. As well as providing this extra quality in finding the final pass, Garner is also quite combative which is a trait that sits in line with the rest of the Everton midfield.

Garner has committed 11 fouls across his 11 Premier League appearances this season (1.27 per 90). He’s missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injury but has featured more regularly for Everton in 2025. Garner has collected two yellow cards across his last five Premier League matches which suggests that his combative nature can occasionally spill over into recklessness.

Garner will be up against Lucas Paqueta who has recovered from a recent injury and is in line to start for the Hammers here. Paqueta is quite hard to knock off the ball which should see Garner have plenty of attempts to dispossess the 27-year-old who is averaging 2.03 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League this campaign.

There were 26 fouls exchanged in the initial meeting between these sides who have been battling at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. We can expect that scrap to continue here when looking at the foul numbers of these underperforming sides, particularly in midfield areas.

Ugochukwu is on loan from Chelsea, like many players in this Southampton side he has struggled but has shown flashes of brilliance which may tempt Enzo Maresca to include him in his squad for next season. One area where Ugochukwu nearly always sees traffic is in the fouls department, he’s averaging 1.81 fouls committed per 90 and 1.14 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League this season, suggesting that he regularly finds himself in midfield tussles.

He’ll be up against one of the most combative midfield setups in the Premier League which includes Joao Gomes. Gomes has committed 55 fouls across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (2.28 per 90) and committed two fouls in the initial meeting between the sides. Wolves are averaging 13.0 fouls committed per game in the Premier League this season, only Bournemouth are committing more fouls per game (13.7) than Vitor Pereira’s men.

O’Shea has been lining up at right back in recent weeks in a slight positional tweak from his usual outings at centre back. This change has directly affected his foul won numbers in the Premier League. O’Shea has been fouled in each of his last five Premier League appearances.

O’Shea is averaging 0.65 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League across the campaign as a whole but this recent increase suggests that we can expect that average to increase here up against a Nottingham Forest side that are committing 10.5 fouls per game.

O’Shea has lined up at centre back for a few of these games and in the FA Cup against Ipswich’s opponents here, which admittedly does reduce his chances of being fouled, however, Chris Wood, has also shown a recent increase in his foul committed numbers over recent weeks which has seen him commit a foul in each of his last five Premier League appearances, aiding our chances of O’Shea being brought down here.

Omari Hutchinson has committed a foul in each of his last five Premier League matches. The former Arsenal and Chelsea man is strong in forward areas but has had to cover more ground defensively this campaign with Ipswich struggling with the quality and efficiency of their Premier League opponents in the final third.

These defensive responsibilities are directly impacting Hutchinson’s foul record, both recently and across the season as a whole. He’s committed 28 fouls across his 26 Premier League games this season (1.18 per 90) which lines up with his recent record in fouling in each of his last five Premier League games.

Hutchinson will be up against Elliot Anderson who is quite reliable when it comes to winning fouls. Anderson has won 43 fouls across his 27 Premier League appearances this season (2.03 per 90). Ipswich committed 16 fouls in the initial meeting between these sides at the City Ground earlier in the campaign.