Tottenham look to make up ground in the race for the top four when they welcome fellow contenders West Ham to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday afternoon for a London derby.
Tottenham bounced back from their defeat at Old Trafford on Wednesday by comfortably dispatching an out of form Brighton 2-0 at the AMEX. The win maintained Spurs’ irregular vain of form since the turn of the year in which they have failed to string together consecutive wins. However the last time Spurs did so, they beat the Hammers on their home turf in the process, running out 2-1 winners in the Quarter-Finals of the EFL Cup in December. The home side go into the game six points behind rivals Arsenal after the Gunners’ 1-0 victory at Villa Park on Saturday lunch time but will be hoping to close that gap and surpass their opponents with three points on Sunday. They will have to do it without English trio Japhet Tanganga, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon though who are nurturing long term knee, groin and thigh injuries respectively.
Spurs manager, Antonio Conte, encourages the fanbase to get behind the team against their London rivals. “Like all the other games they can help us by pushing us from the start until the end” he told the media. “It will be very important for us”
West Ham continued their scintillating European journey on Thursday evening, beating Europa League experts Sevilla 2-0 after extra time at the London Stadium. The Hammers have some catching up to do in the Premier League though as they find themselves level on points with their hosts despite playing a game more. The visitors have struggled on the road too, failing to pick up three points on their travels since a 3-2 victory at Selhurst Park on New Year’s Day. Adding to their woes is their injury list, with key players Jarrod Bowen, Angelo Ogbonna and Vladimir Coufal all serving lengthy spells on the treatment table. However, the Hammers have already beaten Spurs in the Premier League this season and have more than enough quality to capitalise on their opponents’ inconsistent performances.
Hammers boss, David Moyes, has commended Sunday’s opponents but believes his team will be ready for the test. “Against Spurs you are always expecting a competitive game, we will dust ourselves down and get ready”
Prediction: Tottenham 2-2 West Ham
These sides tend to know where the back of the net is when facing each other and I see this game being just the same. However, with both teams enduring an inconsistent run of form going into the game, I just cannot pick a winner. It will definitely be a close one though, that is for sure!
