Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United 19.11.2016 / England Premier
Premier League football is back at White
Hart Lane and it will see the Spurs take on another fierce London rival
West Ham United in Matchweek 12.
Tottenham Hotspur have had a good solid
start, if anything, to their campaign. They are the only side yet to be
beaten in the league and in 11 games they have accrued 21 points with 5
wins and 6 draws sitting fifth in the table, three points off fourth
placed Arsenal. Whichever way you look at it, this is a good platform to
build on in the crucial months of November and December. But there is a
growing sense of anxiety at the club, with the increasing amount of
draws, especially in recent games so much so that they have not won any
on their last six games in all competitions, including a couple of
defeats. They really are in need of a win on Saturday and will go into
this game in fairly high spirits boosted by a well-deserved point at the
Emirates and the return of their talisman Harry Kane.
West Ham United, on the other hand, are
still way off the level they are capable of, in the season so far. Their
move to the Olympic Stadium has obviously played a huge role in
unsettling what looked like anything but unsettled in the campaign
before. With only 3 wins in 11 games they sit 17th in the league but
Bilic’s Hammers did find a bit of form for a short period in the second
half of October when they won three games in a row including the win
against Chelsea at home. But they have reverted to type in the last to
games – a dismal defeat to Everton followed by a disappointing draw at
home to Stoke which makes this game vitally important for them ahead of
two back to back games against Manchester United.
Team News
Toby Alderweireld (knee), Erik Lamela
(hip) and Ben Davies(ankle) have been ruled out for Tottenham Hotspur
and Dele Alli (knee) is deemed doubtful but the midfielder is back in
training and will be assessed on Friday. Pochettino will be encouraged
by the return of Danny Rose, Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele and
Vincent Janssen who have recovered from knocks and are available for the
derby on Saturday.
Winston Reid and James Collins are both
back in training for West Ham United, who could have Diafra Sakho back
in contention. Mark Noble is suspended and Gokhan Tore, Sam Byram (both
thigh), Arthur Masuaku and Andy Carroll (both knee) are still injured.
Interesting Numbers
Harry Kane, who has 15 goals in his last
15 London PL derbies, has scored three times in two previous home PL
outings against West Ham.
West Ham United have won only once in their last 14 league visits to Spurs (L8 D5).
Key Men
Danny Rose – Tottenham Hotspur
Danny Rose has become one of the
mainstays at Spurs now under Pochettino. The 26-year old has been
associated with the club for 9 years now but in the last two years he’s
looked like he has finally made that left back spot his own as a result
of which he is now featuring regularly for the national team. Rose is
one of the left backs in the country with his ability to sprint up and
down, very good on the ball as well as off it which makes him a perfect
player for the intense system Spurs play under the Argentine. Defending
has been one of the strengths of Spurs under Pochettino, they have
conceded just 6 goals so far in 2016/17 at least 3 less than a another
Premier League club which will prove vital in their upcoming game
against West Ham United.
Michail Antonio – West Ham United
With 5 goals from 11 games, Antonio is
the highest scorer for the Hammers and one of the top five scorers in
the league. He’s played in a variety of different roles for West Ham
but he is at is very best when he is given the license to get forward
with the ball in the right wing where he can influence the game in the
best possible manner. His prowess in the air will come handy against a
Spurs side that are missing their best defender in Toby Alderweireld
which will be something that Slaven Bilic could be looking to take
advantage of come Saturday.
Prediction
With Harry Kane back in the side, expect Spurs to shade a victory in what should be a very evenly contested fixture.
