The Hammers started off the season with a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United and a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal, leaving many West Ham fans wondering whether it was going to be another season of scrapping it out to avoid relegation. However, they have turned it around remarkably in their last two matches beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 and Leicester City 3-0, giving West Ham fans a glimmer of hope. Next up for the Hammers is a short trip across London to take on Spurs.
A Closer Look at Spurs
Jose Mourinho’s men have started the season quite well and have 7 points from their opening four matches, including a 5-1 demolition of Southampton and a 6-1 demolition of Manchester United. They drew 1-1 with Newcastle United, but they battered the Geordies in that match and should have scored at least three or four. They would have won the match 1-0 if it were not for a dodgy late penalty that Callum Wilson put away. Even the Newcastle manager, Steve Bruce, in his post-match interview said that if that is a handball, then we might as well pack our bags and call it a day.
When it comes to Premier League attacks, we firmly believe that Spurs have one of the most potent ones in the league, and they will only get deadlier when Gareth Bale is ready for action. Son Heung-Min has already scored six goals this season, while Harry Kane has 3 goals and 6 assists to his name. Since the start of the 2019/20 season, Kane and Son have created 92 chances between them and have been involved in 57 goals. The West Ham defenders will have to be at the top of their game if they are to help us get anything out of this match.
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West Ham Team News
Isa Diop has missed the last two wins against Leicester and Wolves as he tested positive for Coronavirus, but it remains to be seen whether he will walk straight back into the team. Fabian Balbuena played instead of him in these matches and put in a very strong performance against Wolves to keep Raul Jimenez quiet and show the West Ham faithful that he does have the skills to defend.
Arthur Masuaku and Ryan Fredericks are doubts for the match, meaning that it is likely that Vladimir Coufal will play at right-back, while Aaron Cresswell will probably move out to the left to cover for Masuaku. Apart from those, everyone else in the squad is reportedly fit and available to play.
Spurs Team News
Gareth Bale has been taking part in full training during the international break, and it looks like there is a good chance that he will make his second debut for Spurs at the weekend. Us West Ham fans will be hoping that he is still a bit rusty after having not played a competitive match for some time now.
Eric Dier picked up a hamstring injury in their win over Belgium that kept him out of the defeat to the Danes, and this makes him a major doubt for the weekend. However, it is not like they do not have suitable cover for him, so they will be able to cope without him for a game or two. Giovani Lo Celso, Steven Bergwijn, and Japhet Tanganga are also major doubts for the home team.
Recent Fixtures Between the Teams
Last season Spurs did the double over West Ham, and in the last ten league matches between the two sides there has been three wins for the Hammers, one draw, and six wins for Spurs. There has not been a goalless match between these two sides since they met on the 19th March 2011, so we expect there to be at least one goal.
Fun Facts
- Spurs won have won their last two league meetings against West Ham, and the last time they managed to win three in a row against their local rivals was between March 2008 and December 2009 – they won five in a row.
- West Ham have won more away games against Spurs (5) than against any other team apart from Fulham (7).
- Jose Mourinho has never been beaten by David Moyes in 12 league encounters.
- West Ham’s Antonio has scored four times in seven matches against Spurs and he has scored more goals against them in his career than he has against any other team.
- In their last 10 matches, Spurs have only been beaten once.
Who Do We Think Will Win?
Both teams are in pretty good form and if we manage to stop Spurs’ deadly attack, then we can certainly get a positive result from the game. However, containing Kane, Son (and possibly Bale) is easier said than done. Depsite dispatching Leicester quite easily, most West Ham fans would probably take a point at the weekend, and this is what we think will happen.
Score prediction: 1-1
