Tottenham Hotspur takes on West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday evening and they will be hoping to bounce back from their humiliating defeat against Leicester City.
Antonio Conte’s side are currently fifth in the league table and they cannot afford to keep dropping points if they want to secure Champions League qualification this season.
Tottenham have been quite inconsistent this season and they have failed to win three of their last five league matches.
On the other hand, West Ham are fighting for their survival in the Premier League and they are without a win in five of their last six league matches. The Hammers are currently 18th in the league table and they will be hoping to pull off an upset against an inconsistent Tottenham side.
“It's an important game. There are no new injuries”
Cristian Stellini has a team news update ahead of #TOTWHU 🗣 pic.twitter.com/ssi9S2kMDR
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 17, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
The home side will be without the services of Hugo Lloris, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ryan Sessegnon because of injury problems.
Antonio Conte is likely to field his side in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Fraser Forster in goal. In the back three, Cristian Romero is likely to partner Eric Dier and Ben Davies.
Dier has been criticised for his performance lately the England defender will be hoping to put his best foot forward here.
January signing Pedro Porro is expected to start as the right-sided wing back with Ivan Perisic on the left flank.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will partner with Pape Matar Sarr in the middle of the park. While Hojbjerg will look to break up the play the youngster Sarr will look to recycle the possession here.
🇸🇳 @papematarsarr15 💙 pic.twitter.com/vgpOPCZgfi
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 18, 2023
Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-Min will line up as the attacking midfielders here and they will look to drift into the wide areas from time to time to add width to the attack.
Harry Kane is set to lead the line for the home side.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Forster; Romero, Dier, Davies; Porro, Hojbjerg, Sarr, Perisic; Kulusevski, Son; Kane
West Ham United
The Hammers are without the services of Maxwel Cornet, Kurt Zouma, Lucas Paqueta and Alphonse Areola because of injury problems.
💬 "We’re trying to give the supporters as many good occasions as we can"
Moyes discusses Sunday's derby, injury news and team morale ⚒️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 17, 2023
David Moyes is likely to field his side in a similar setup with Lukasz Fabianski in goal.
In the back three, Thilo Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna and Ben Johnson will line up in a back three and they will look to contain the Tottenham attackers here.
Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri are likely to be deployed as the full-backs and they will hope to add width during transitions.
Declan Rice will partner Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park and the England international will hope to break the Tottenham play up and win the ball back for his side.
Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma will add width and creativity to the West Ham attack and Michail Antonio is set to lead the line for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Johnson; Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Bowen, Antonoi, Benrahma
Key Stats
- Tottenham have scored at least 2 goals in 8 of their last 10 home matches against West Ham in all competitions.
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West Ham have failed to win 9 of their last 10 matches (Premier League).
- Harry Kane’s last 11 goals in all competitions have all come in London.
- After losing five league games in a row, West Ham have lost just one of the last five (W1, D3).
- West Ham have suffered five straight away defeats in London league derbies.
Player to watch
Harry Kane
The England international has been in sublime form this season and his goal-scoring numbers have only gone under the radar because of Erling Haaland’s stupendous form this season.
⚽️ Most goals and assists combined in the Premier League this season:
🥇 Erling Haaland – 30
🥈 Harry Kane – 18
🥉 𝗕𝘂𝗸𝗮𝘆𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝗮 – 𝟭𝟳🚀 Saka fires Arsenal level with an absolute rocket that left Emi Martinez rooted to the spot!#AVLARS | 1-1
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 18, 2023
The 29-year-old has 19 goals across all competitions and he has the quality to exploit West Ham’s vulnerable defence. The Hammers have been quite poor at the back this season and they have considered 27 goals in 22 league matches.
Harry Kane is capable of causing all sorts of problems for the visitors and he is our man to watch on Sunday.
Prediction
Tottenham 2-1 West ham
Both teams will be desperate to pick up all three points here for very different reasons. Tottenham are chasing a top-four finish and West Ham are looking to preserve their status as a Premier League club.
Neither side can afford to drop points here and this is likely to be a close contest. However, the Hammers have a leaky defence and that is likely to let them down here.
The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 win for Tottenham on Sunday.
