Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is looking to avoid breaking a 37-year unwanted club record against West Ham United on Saturday.
The former England international has now gone 20 matches since his last goal for the club, which incidentally came against the Hammers back in October.
That drought has matched a record which dates back to 1987, when the Toffees' former frontman Adrian Heath also went 20 without scoring, while also starting at least 15 games in that spell.
As Everton lie third-bottom in the goals-scored table in the Premier League, Calvert-Lewin's struggles go a long way towards explaining why they have managed only 28 goals in 26 games this season.
Sean Dyche has stuck with the forward throughout his barren spell, as he has started 19 of the 20 games during his drought, but his struggles are illustrated by the fact that no Premier League striker has underperformed their xG more than Calvert-Lewin this season.
While it is difficult to find many excuses for such a lengthy spell without a goal, many will point towards some bad fortune which has prolonged the forward's scoreless run.
It was Calvert-Lewin whose effort was chalked off on VAR review when Everton lost away to Tottenham Hotspur in December, as there was a perceived foul committed by Andre Gomes in the build up which caused a stir with both manager Dyche and the Everton fanbase.
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In the reverse fixture at Goodison Park at the start of February, Calvert-Lewin was also denied a goal once more, when his close-range header inadvertently hit Jack Harrison on the line, going down as a goal for the winger instead.
Everton are no strangers to misfiring strikers, as Neal Maupay managed just one goal for the Toffees in 31 appearances.
That has proved even more remarkable now that the Frenchman scored in his first five games of 2024, as well as at the London Stadium against West Ham on Monday.
Maupay was brought in as backup following the exit of Salomon Rondon, who arrived under Rafael Benitez's brief tenure in 2021, and the Venezuelan struggled in similar fashion, also managing just one league goal in 27 matches for the club.
If Calvert-Lewin is to end his goal drought, West Ham would appear to be ideal opponents to face next, given his strong career record against the Hammers.
The 26-year-old has six career goals against West Ham, including a hat trick in an EFL Cup tie back in 2020, and that tally is his best against any single opponent across his career.
Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal when Everton won 1-0 at the London Stadium earlier this season, and with the club in the midst of a nine-game winless run, the blue half of Merseyside would love for him to repeat the feat, to potentially move eight points clear of the bottom three.
Andrew Delaney
