With no wins in their last four games, the pressure has reached its boiling point for Tottenham Hotspur as they go into the London derby against West Ham United with a dire need of three points.
It has been a bitter-sweet campaign for Tottenham Hotspur, to say the least. Despite being unbeaten in the league this season, Spurs surprisingly find themselves out of the top four, struggling to establish their supremacy against the teams that are around them.
With a total of six matches drawn, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have only managed to win on five occasions, leaving a lot of margin for improvement. Injuries to key first-team players such as Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld have not helped Spurs’ cause, but now with their striker back in action, things may just take a turn for the better.
For West Ham, it’s been a disappointing inaugural season at their new stadium. Many expected Slaven Bilic’s men to pick up from where they left off last term and the play the same open and attacking brand of football.
But, to the dismay of the Hammers fans, things have not quite panned out the way they expected as they find their side struggling to put wins together. By picking up maximum points on just three occasions, West Ham find themselves at the bottom- half of the table, fighting a grueling battle against relegation in 17th place.
Probable Lineups
Hugo Lloris is Spurs’ number one and will continue to lead his side on Saturday. Kyle Walker will start on the right side of defence, with Eric Dier likely to partner Jan Vertonghen centrally. Danny Rose is expected to recover from a knock to take the field against the Hammers.
Victor Wanyama is expected to play as the link between the defence and the attacking midfield and will have a job on his hands to provide cover to his defenders while also bossing the opposition in the middle of the park. Beyond him, Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen will play alongside each other with Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko playing as wingers. Harry Kane will look to make his first start since his return from injury.
For the Hammers, Winston Reid, James Collins and James Tomkins are expected to form a back three with Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate playing as anchor-men in midfield.
Michael Antonio and Aaron Cresswell do have a penchant to attack despite being defensive players, and will be deployed as wing-backs trying to force Spurs to play a deeper line. Michael Lanzini and Dimitri Payet will play the roles of inside forwards supplementing Andre Ayew up front.
Stats
- Tottenham Hotspur have the best defensive record in England’s top flight, conceding just six goals this season.
- Spurs are on a seven-match winless run in all competitions, drawing five and losing on two occasions. This is the longest time they have had to wait for maximum points since May 2004 when they failed to win eight games on the spin.
- Only twice before in the top-flight have Spurs managed to avoid defeat in their opening 12 games (1959-60 and 1960-61).
- Dimitri Payet has created an astounding 40 goal-scoring chances, which is the highest among any player in Europe’s top five leagues.
- The Hammers have collected nine fewer points from their opening 11 games (11) than they did last season (20), though this was their best PL start.
- Slaven Bilic has lost five of his last six away games as West Ham boss with the only win coming against Crystal Palace.
Watch out for
Mousa Dembele
The Belgian is a vital cog in an extremely fluid Spurs machine. Dembele is one of those players who has the footballing brain and the maturity to get his side out of predicaments. His performances against Arsenal showed exactly why he needs to be taken seriously, and if he has another good day at the office on Saturday, Spurs can be certain of coming out of the game with a positive result.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham
It’s about time that Spurs finally start to get more victories under their belt, and what better occasion than a London derby? Both sides have not been in the best of form of late, and could struggle to get a hold of the game in the initial goings. However, once fatigue sets in and the players start to tire, Tottenham might just have the cutting edge in them to get the job done. That being said, the Hammers do stand an equal chance to get something out of the game if they manage to exploit a weakened Spurs defence.