Manchester United and Arsenal’s 12.30pm clash may be the Premier League’s main event on Saturday but Tottenham and West Ham’s London derby (kickoff at 5.30pm) represents an incredibly strong undercard.
Indeed, the Spurs and the Hammers have partook in countless clashes over the years and they rarely disappoint, fuelled by feisty tackles, hostility on the terraces, glorious goals and relentless drama.
With the home side winless in six Premier League outings and Slaven Bilic’s boys finding themselves just one place above the relegation zone, both sides will be desperate to pick up all three points on Saturday to give their stuttering campaigns a much-needed jump-start.
So how will the match pan out? Who are the favourites? Who is absent through injury and who’ll prove to be the ultimate influence on the scoreline?
Well, consider this your all-in-one preview ahead of Saturday’s meet, covering injury news, form, key battles, curious statistics and much, much more!
Favourites, Form and prior encounters
SKYBET ODDS
Spurs win: 8/15 Draw: 16/5 West Ham win: 5/1
Evident enough through the league table, Tottenham are the standout favourites for this one. Home advantage could prove pivotal anyway, but the two sides are currently separated by ten points in the Premier League – Spurs just outside the top four and the Hammers just one point above the drop zone.
That being said, it’s actually the Irons who come out on top in terms of recent encounters, winning three of the last six compared to Tottenham’s two – including a 1-0 victory for the Hammers in March this year.
However, Spurs have scored just four times in their last eight outings across all competitions and clearly aren’t firing on all cylinders. West Ham, meanwhile, have failed to score just once in their last six – but their only clean sheet in the same period came against rock-bottom Sunderland.
Injuries & Suspensions
Spurs
According to our mates at PhysioRoom, Spurs have three certain absences this weekend – Ben Davies, Erik Lamela and Toby Alderweireld. The latter is undoubtedly the biggest loss, having established himself as one of the top defenders in the Premier League since arriving from Atletico Madrid.
In terms of slight doubts, Christian Eriksen, Vincent Janssen, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele are all facing a race for fitness. Although Pochettino added robustness and depth to his squad during the summer, missing out on all five on Saturday would seriously deplete the quality of his starting XI, particularly in regards to Eriksen, Alli and Dembele. That seems unlikely though.
West Ham
West Ham will definitely be without youngsters Sam Byram and Reece Oxford this weekend, who are both facing prolonged spells on the sidelines and certainly won’t be rushed back into first team action.
Meanwhile, Gokhan Tore is also nursing a thigh strain – PhysioRoom expect him to miss the weekend’s action – whilst this match may come too soon for Arthur Masukaku, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho. In more pleasing news, defensive duo Winston Reid and James Collins should be available.
Likely starting Xis
http://lineupbuilder.com/350×500/?p=11&a=40213&t=&c=ffffff&1=GK_Lloris__388_174&2=DL_Rose__317_64&3=DCL_Vertonghen__327_138&4=DCR_Dier__327_211&5=DR_Walker__317_284&6=DML_Dembele__240_138&7=DMR_Wanyama__240_211&8=MCA_Eriksen__170_174&9=WL_Son__116_64&10=WR_Sissoko__116_284&11=FCA_Kane__80_174&c2=20294d&c3=252747&output=embed
We’ve tried to stick as closely to Spurs’ usual game plan as possible, whilst bearing in mind a few potential absences through injury. If fit, however, we’d expect Mousa Dembele to start, whilst Lamela and Alderweireld’s absences could see Moussa Sissoko fielded on the wing and Eric Dier moved into defence respectively.
http://lineupbuilder.com/350×500/?p=11&a=1&t=&c=7a276e&1=GK_Adrian__388_174&2=DCLL_Ogbonna__317_114&3=DC_Kouyate__327_174&4=DCRR_Reid__317_235&5=MLA_Cresswell__204_64&6=MCL_Noble__222_138&7=MCR_Obiang__222_211&8=MRA_Antonio__204_284&9=AC_Payet__144_130&10=AC_Lanzini__144_229&11=FCA_Ayew__80_174&c2=54afff&c3=ffffff&output=embed
West Ham’s likeliest starting XI, meanwhile, is the one that faced Stoke City before the international break with the exception of Winston Reid potentially coming in for James Collins. We’re still not convinced Andy Carroll will be fit for the weekend or that Diafra Sakho will even be given a chance after his transfer request during the summer. Overall, Slaven Bilic’s hands are relatively tied for Saturday – unless he decides to switch to a back four.
The Key Battle – Dimitri Payet vs Victor Wanyama
Victor Wanyama may not be the most glamorous of players but he’s undoubtedly added some much-needed steeliness to Tottenham’s starting XI since arriving from Southampton during the summer.
He’s averaged 2.5 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per match this term, meaning he’s completed the most ball-winning actions per match of any Spurs midfielder, whilst offering added protection in the air. Only Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies have averaged more successful aerial duels per match throughout the entire Spurs squad.
That being said, keeping a leash on West Ham’s talismanic attacker Dimitri Payet is no easy task. As the numbers above show, he ranks first throughout the Premier League for chances created per match despite the Hammers managing just one goal a game in the top flight so far this season.
The Frenchman is still the star of the show and will be the most talented player on the pitch on Saturday. Whilst Wanyama has the physicality to stop him impacting from central positions, however, Payet often drifts wide to find space, which could create problems for the Lilywhites’ full-backs.
Word from the managers
Slaven Bilic on Tottenham: “When I was a West Ham player, I considered the derby against Tottenham to be the biggest game of the season. For me, nothing has changed.
“I made my West Ham debut at White Hart Lane in February 1996. We won 1-0, with a goal from Dani. The same scoreline would be very acceptable tomorrow.
“We have improved in recent weeks and will continue to get better but we are still too close to the wrong end of the Premier League table.”
Mauricio Pochettino on West Ham: “Every time we play and compete in the Premier League, the opponent takes the game like a derby or a final. That is good. This is another derby, another final for us.
“We’re creating many chances every game, the problem is that we need more chances to score. Maybe we’re not as clinical as we were last season. It’s about working hard and trying to improve.”