Tottenham Hotspur looks to overturn their ‘worst start’ to a Premier League campaign when they host rivals West Ham United on Saturday (19 October). The Lilywhites’ ten points from seven games is their worst-ever start to a league campaign and pressure is mounting on Ange Postecoglou to turn things around.
Even though Spurs picked up a compelling 3-0 win at Manchester United at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, they’ve hardly been consistent this season. Now they face a West Ham side who are themselves struggling for consistency with just two wins in seven matches as new manager Julen Lopetegui experiences teething problems after a major summer overhaul.
With both London rivals eager to get back from the October break with a big win, this London derby should be a mouth-watering encounter. Neither are exactly ‘defensive’ and are encouraged to play proactive, fast-paced attacking football. Things could get a bit messy at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium, but a thrilling Premier League encounter is, more or less, assured.
Last 5 Games
After accumulating four points from their first two Premier League matches, the Lilywhites’ form has significantly dipped in recent months. The two narrow losses to Newcastle United and Arsenal in early September (2024), where bad luck and conversion issues haunted them, did not help at all. They followed those clashes up by scoring six in wins over Brentford and Manchester United, before conceding three in one half to lose to Brighton. It’s all been very topsy-turvy for Postecoglou’s side so far, as he needs to fix the defensive issues and bring more stability to his side’s system.
West Ham United actually picked up three points from a tricky start to the campaign, even defeating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. But their form has been wonky ever since the heroics against the London side, as Postecoglou’s side went on a four game winless run in the Premier League afterwards. This included heavy losses to Man City and Chelsea at home, as well as draws against Fulham and Brentford. They somewhat recovered with a big win before the October international break, but consistency is the name of the game if West Ham aim to climb the Premier League ladder.
Tottenham Hotspur: 9th
Loss: 3-2 vs Brighton
Win: 3-0 vs Manchester United
Win: 3-1 vs Brentford
Loss: 1-0 vs Arsenal
Loss: 2-1 vs Newcastle United
West Ham United: 12th
Win: 4-1 vs Ipswich Town
Draw: 1-1 vs Brentford
Loss: 3-0 vs Chelsea
Draw: 1-1 vs Fulham
Loss: 3-1 vs Manchester City
Team News
Spurs have missed captain Son Heung-min for the last few matches after he picked up a knock prior to the visit to Old Trafford. But he is line to make a return against West Ham after recovering well during the break. Ange Postecoglou has hinted that Lucas Bergval and Richarlison are also getting closer to returning and could be in the squad against the Hammers. But Wilson Odobert is still a bit far away from returning to full fitness.
Despite all his issues at West Ham United, Lopetegui is at least fortunate not to have experienced an injury crisis of any sort. They have, although, missed summer signing Niclas Fulkrug for their last five matches due to a calf issue. But Fulkrug is inching closer to returning to fitness and could be in the squad for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Possible Lineups
Tottenham Hotspur:
Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min, Dominic Solanke
West Ham United:
Alphonso Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, Emerson, Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Michail Antonio
Head-to-Head
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have a long-standing rivalry and have faced each other 223 times in competitive football in their history. The Lilywhites boast the better record as they have won 101 of these games, while the Hammers have won on 67 occasions. There have also been 55 draws between the two.
But the last time that Tottenham actually defeated West Ham United was in the 2022-23 Premier League campaign. It was in their home ground that the Lilywhites managed to get a compelling 2-0 win over the Hammers. Despite West Ham putting up an admirable fight, Spurs rode on two second-half goals from Emerson Royal and Son Heung-min to scratch out the three points.
West Ham actually defeated Tottenham in their last visit to their glittering state-of-the-art stadium. On 8 December, 2023, West Ham showed a lot of resolve to stun Ange Postecoglou’s side at their own yard. Cristian Romero had given Spurs the lead on the da, before goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse in the second half helped the Hammers get a valuable win.
Where Will The Game Be Decided?
Brennan Johnson is a man on fire, having scored in his last six consecutive matches for Tottenham and seven in as many clashes for club and country. He will play a vital role in the game against a leaky West Ham backline that has already conceded 11 goals so far this season. Johnson needs to time his off-the-ball runs perfectly to outwit the shaky Emerson, get in behind the Hammers’ backline and continue his crisp conversion magic to help Tottenham get back to winning ways.
For West Ham, a road to success would be if they can capitalize on Spurs’ infamously high-backline. If Lopetegui can get his side to soak up some of the attacking pressure and then chipped passes or through balls into the Spurs half, then the hosts could be in trouble. The speed of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus will be vital for the Hammers troubling Spurs on the fast-breaks and Lucas Paqueta needs to nail his final passes to expose Tottenham’s defensive frailties.
Prediction
Tottenham’s inconsistency has made predicting their games a major headache this season. But their impressive home form gives reason for optimism. In four home matches so far (across all competitions), they have scored 10 goals and only conceded two goals.
Spurs have this ability to turn on their flair with the energy of the huge fanbase behind them at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. They have that extra bit of fire to their attacking moves and tend to torment defenders with their extra speedy attacks and rapid transitions.
West Ham might’ve scraped out a few draws on the road this season in the Premier League, but they horribly lack cohesion at the back. Their newly strung-together backline still has adaptation issues, and even the tiniest of communication error or positional mistake can make them pay at Spurs’ stadium.
Because of Tottenham’s encouraging home form and West Ham’s shaky defensive record, Spurs should be able to fight out a win here.
Our prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham United
Odds
Tottenham win: 12/25
Draw: 4/1
West Ham win: 9/2
The odds are strongly backing Spurs to get the win in this London derby. They are given the implied probability of 67.6% of getting the three points at their home ground. That means if one was to bet £10 on a Spurs win and that result happened, then they’d get a return of £14.80. A cheeky bet on West Ham would mean that if the Hammers picked up the win, then someone to have bet on them would get a £55 return for a £10 bet.
With two of the last three meetings between these two sides having had more than three goals, the over 2.5 goals bet (2/5) for this one can be one to keep an eye out for.
- By Bet365 at the time of writing.
Kickoff Time
The game kicks off at 12:30 PM GST at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. Andy Madley has been assigned as the referee for this match, while Mat Wilkes will be on VAR duty.
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