West Ham vs Tottenham Preview: How to Watch, Team News, Key Battle & More
West Ham take on Tottenham at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Spurs go into the game in a good run of league form, having won three on the bounce and conceding one goal in the process.
The Hammers have shown an upturn in their recent form. After losing their first four games, they’ve picked up seven points in their last four, including a win over Manchester United and a draw with Chelsea to disrupt their 100% start to the season.
When? | Saturday 20 October @ 3pm (BST) |
Where? | London Stadium |
How Can I Watch? | Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday or BT Sport Score |
Classic Encounter
West Ham 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur (March 2007)
The clash between the two at Upton Park in 2007 is one of the most entertaining games in Premier League history. A young, fresh faced Mark Noble opened the scoring for the Hammers, before Carlos Tevez scored his long awaited first goal in English football from a free kick.
Phil Cole/GettyImages
Jermain Defoe pulled one back for Spurs against his former club from the penalty spot, before Teemu Tainio made it 2-2 from an Aaron Lennon assist. Bobby Zamora headed West Ham back in front before Dimitar Berbatov equalled Tevez's earlier effort with his own free kick.
Paul Stalteri scored the winning goal with a poacher's effort after Spurs caught West Ham on the counter.
Team News
Javier Hernandez is back in training for West Ham, after recovering from glandular fever, but Andy Carroll is still a couple of weeks away from a return. Marko Arnautovic has recovered from the knee injury which sidelined him for the Chelsea game, and will be hoping to build on his four goals this season.
Arthur Masuaku and Robert Snodgrass are both doubts, whilst Manuel Lanzini, Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere remain on the long term injury list.
Key Battle
Harry Winks vs. Declan Rice
Two of the best young midfielders in the country go head to head on Saturday. Rice has turned out a string of impressive performances for West Ham this season after transitioning from centre half.
Harry Winks returned from a long injury lay off at the start of the season, and is starting to find the form that got him called up to the England squad last season - see the second half against Barcelona, or England's most recent match against Spain.
Both players will be key to controlling the midfield and starting moves for their attackers; Rice will most likely reprise his role shielding the back four, whilst Winks will shoulder creative responsibilities alongside Eric Dier. Whoever settles into the game quicker may have a big impact on the outcome of the match.
Predicted Lineups
West Ham: Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell; Rice; F. Anderson, Noble, Obiang, Yarmalenko; Arnautovic
Tottenham: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Lamela, Winks, Dier, Son; Lucas, Kane
Prediction
West Ham have found a resoluteness at home in recent weeks, and could build on that recent form. However with the quality that Tottenham possess going forward, they may have too much for the home side on this occasion.
Predicted Scoreline: West Ham 1-2 Tottenham
