Premier League: Are Spurs Heading for a Hammer Blow?

Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United

There comes a time in every season when the reality becomes clear. The games are ticking by and the targets you set at the start of the campaign loom vividly into view.

Premier League: Tottenham vs West Ham is a really tasty fixture in that respect. Both began the season with haughty aspirations; Antonio Conte’s Spurs eying a top four place and some long-awaited silverware, while David Moyes’ West Ham United were hoping to build on two top seven finishes and extend their stay in European competition.

But neither team had a first half of the season to look back on fondly and they currently sit fifth and 16^th in the league respectively. Spurs are two points behind fourth place, while the Hammers are just two points above the drop zone but they have been showing signs of improvement with just one league defeat in five.

Spurs come into the game on the back of a Champions League loss to AC Milan in midweek, while the Hammers put their feet up after drawing with Chelsea.

Talking Points

Bentancur a big loss to Spurs

Last week Conte returned to the dugout after undergoing gall bladder surgery; but he probably wishes he hadn’t after watching his side get thumped 4-1 by Leicester City and one of his most influential players get stretchered off. The club has subsequently confirmed that Rodrigo Bentancur will be out for the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury midway through the second half, after giving Tottenham an early lead.

That was the fifth goal of the season for the all-action midfield general who has also picked up eight yellow cards. His midfield partner Pierre-Emile Hjobjerg is feeling the pain, saying: “We were speaking to each other day and I told him ‘we are improving each other, we are friends, we are team-mates, but we are pushing each other’.”

Rodrigo Bentancur out for the remainder of the Premier League season — Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the rest of the season after an ACL injury

Hjojberg has five goals and five assists and, after missing the Milan game, he will step back into place, alongside either Pape Sarr or Oliver Skipp who paired up in midfield against I Rossoneri and put in strong performances.

Up front the ever-reliable Harry Kane will be hoping to get his team back on track. His 17 goals from 23 matches would put him in good shape for the Golden Boot were it not for the presence of Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland. But Conte will be hoping for more from the unusually out-of-sorts Heung-Min Son. He has been a shadow of his former self with four goals and three assists, a respectable return but we are used to the South Korean forward putting in spectacular figures.

Newcastle, currently in the coveted fourth place, have a difficult task at home to Liverpool this weekend and so Tottenham could jump into the top four with a victory.

But it won’t be easy.

Hammers are becoming hard to beat

David Moyes is a canny coach and any fears that the Hammers are going to be embroiled in a relegation scrap have begun to fade after they picked up five useful points from their last three league games. After beating Everton 2-0 West Ham have gone on to record 1-1 draws with the league’s financial big hitters, Newcastle United and Chelsea.

But they are still too close to the drop zone and Moyes will push his team on, and they will be well organised on Sunday. Our SBOTOP odds make Spurs favourites to pick up all three points but they are sure to have a battle on their hands. A midfield without Bentancur may find it difficult to cope with the experienced pair of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, while Jarrod Bowen is getting back to his best in the front line and Nayef Aguerd is emerging as one of the best centre backs in the league.

History

In recent encounters, the head-to-head Tottenham vs West Ham results have gone the way of Spurs who have won two of the last three meetings, though the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium earlier this season. Soucek grabbed an equaliser for the hosts after Thilo Kehrer had put through his own net.

The Hammers’ recent form has certainly picked up with just one defeat from the last six games, winning three and drawing two, while Spurs have been dogged by inconsistency with three wins and three defeats.

That hit-and-miss form has been evident at home where Tottenham have won seven and lost four, though West Ham’s away form isn’t much to write home about, with just a single victory, three draws and seven defeats on the road.