West Ham United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
This Premier League clash has always been a fight for London pride – two sets of players and two sets of fans with little time for each other when it comes to 90 minutes in opposition.
Yet this meeting at the London Stadium was also an indicator of how the two clubs have headed in different trajectories in recent months – highlighted by the fact that while West Ham were maintaining their perfect record in the Europa League by beating Genk 3-0 on Thursday night, Tottenham were paying the price for leaving their star players at home as Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem earned a deserved win in the Europa Conference League – a competition which cannot even be described as one worth winning.
Of course, home manager David Moyes knows that Spurs, for all their recent struggles, still boast greater resources than his Hammers.
Not only does the north London club have a deeper squad, but Moyes’s side have struggled immediately after playing in Europe this season, conceding last-minute goals in defeats by Brentford and Manchester United.
So, who would prevail and would we witness Premier League highlights similar to those delivered by this fixture in recent seasons?
Highlights of the game
Moyes named an unchanged team from the side that won at Everton last Sunday which meant top scorer Michail Antonio led the line supported by Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma.
Mark Noble was named as a sub following a brief injury lay-off.
Spurs, meanwhile, reverted to the same starting XI that defeated Newcastle last weekend as Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo rang the changes from their Europa Conference League defeat.
Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon remained sidelined.
The first half saw West Ham start stronger but, while the Hammers had more rhythm early on, Spurs had the better openings as Son Heung-min wriggled free of his markers and squeezed the ball to Lucas Moura who was off balance and slicked his effort wide.
The exciting South Korean then drove into the box but his shot from an angle was straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
Back at the other end and West Ham could and possibly should have broken the deadlock when Pablo Fornals chipped an inviting cross into the six yard box which was met by Tomas Soucek who powered his header too high.
At the other end, Fabianski had to be alert to claw a powerful Harry Kane header over the bar as the half drew to a close.
The SBOTOP Premier League betting odds made Spurs slight favourites at half-time and they went close again minutes after the restart as Sergio Reguilon flashed a cross into the box which young Oliver Skipp was inches away from converting.
It was hardly surprising there was clear tension in a fixture which means so much to both teams. Perhaps it also weighed on the minds of home players that they had lost their last two home league games late on, while Spurs may have been aware they had suffered four successive Premier League London derby defeats.
The breakthrough arrived 18 minutes from time.
That’s when Hugo Lloris tipped a deflected Pablo Fornals shot over the bar and, from the resulting corner, Aaron Cresswell swung the ball into the danger zone and Antonio was alert to slack defending and poked out afoot to prod in the opener.
One nearly became two when Antonio produced a defense-splitting pass which found the run of Benrahma, although his low shot was smothered by Lloris.
It didn’t matter – West Ham had the points and how their players and fans enjoyed it.
Key statistics
Antonio has scored 10 goals in 10 games versus Spurs.
All 52 of Antonio’s Premier League goals have been scored from inside the penalty area. Only Tim Cahill (56) and Javier Hernandez (53) have scored more goals in the competition with 100% of them coming from inside the box.
West Ham have avoided defeat in three consecutive league games against Spurs for the first time since May 2006.
The Hammers have made four changes to their starting line-up in Premier League games this season, fewer than any other side.
None of Spurs’ past 15 league games have ended level (won nine, lost six). It’s their longest run without a draw in the top flight since a 32-match sequence between April 2018 and February 2019.
What’s next?
A busy period continues now for both sides.
West Ham host holders Manchester City in the League Cup in midweek before travelling to Aston Villa a week today.
Last season’s beaten finalists, Spurs, meanwhile, are at Burnley on Wednesday night and then host Man Utd in the Premier League next Saturday teatime (October 30).
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
