Referee who Frank Lampard accused of favouritism against Everton appointed for West Ham clash 

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Everton will be returning to action this weekend with a game against a struggling West Ham United following their first loss in five.

Sean Dyche had to watch on as Everton lost against a Southampton side who came into the game as the side rock bottom of the league.

Jamie Carragher has criticised Ashley Young following the game but there were a number of players who also fell into that category.

The Toffees will be facing a West Ham side who are only sat two points ahead of them despite enjoying a really promising summer transfer window.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
14	West HamWest Ham	10	3	2	5	13	19	-6	11
15	LeicesterLeicester	10	2	4	4	14	18	-4	10
16	EvertonEverton	10	2	3	5	10	17	-7	9
17	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	10	1	4	5	8	13	-5	7
18	IpswichIpswich	10	0	5	5	10	21	-11	5

But some Everton fans may already be dreading the game on the weekend after the Premier League have just announced who the referee will be.

• READ MORE: Everton release what they’ve ‘now begun’ doing at the new stadium in exciting update

Stuart Attwell appointed as referee for West Ham vs Everton

On Tuesday morning, the Premier League announced their referee appointments for the upcoming fixtures on the weekend.

And a familiar face in Stuart Attwell has been selected to take charge of the game in the capital as the Toffees make the trip south.

• Stuart Attwell – Referee
• Constantine Hatzidakis & Wade Smith – Linesmen
• Tim Robinson – Fourth official
• Darren England – VAR

There is only one club who Attwell has overseen more games for in his career than Everton (28) with Wolverhampton Wanderers (30).

Dyche has already blamed VAR after the loss to Ipswich on the weekend after suggesting Jan Bednarek should have been sent off.

The Toffees may well have been lucky not to see James Tarkowski sent off for a rash challenge, but they will be facing a referee on Saturday who they have previous with.

• READ MORE: Joe Hart suggests £18m Everton star is to blame for Southampton’s goal

What Frank Lampard previously said about Stuart Attwell

Back in 2022, Attwell was in charge of the Merseyside Derby at Anfield where Liverpool secured a 2-0 victory.

However, with the score at 0-0, the Toffees were denied a penalty by Attwell after being taken down by Joel Matip.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Lampard accused Attwell of favouritism towards their Merseyside rivals.

“I think they both could have been penalties but you often don’t get them at Anfield. The fact there’s contact and he gets booked is crazy. The second one was a foul [anywhere else] on the pitch. Sometimes you don’t get them here,” he said.

“They [Liverpool] are in a different area to us. They’re near the top of the table, they’ve been together a long time and have a strong style of play. We had to be organised and disciplined. I couldn’t ask for more at half-time except taking our chances.”

A big game awaits Everton but this may already feel like a potential blow going into a clash against another struggling side.