WEST HAM – TOTTENHAM | Wednesday, 20:45
Diametrically opposite moods for the two ambitious London clubs after the first four days of the Premier League. Absolutely forgettable start for West Ham: the Hammers’ season started with three defeats in a row against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton. David Moyes had certainly budgeted for that one with Pep Guardiola’s Citizens, but struggled to find a plausible explanation for the double slip against teams as clearly within reach as the other two.
The Scottish coach’s main concern was a lacklustre ball-possession performance as Antonio and his team-mates ran out of goals in the first 270 minutes. It was better in the Conference League, however: six goals in total in the first and second leg against lowly Danish side Viborg, who were swept aside without any problems. The first positive result came in Birmingham against Aston Villa, where Fornals’ goal in the second half decided the game and gave the Hammers their first points. In the meantime, the Londoners continue to talk big on the market: they are by far one of the clubs that have spent the most and from the next match they will also be able to count on former Milan player Lucas Paquetá, bought for around 60 million euros from Lyon.
As for Tottenham, Antonio Conte’s side may not be enchanting in terms of play but they are travelling fast. On Sunday, Spurs took home their third win in four games, 0-2 at the City Ground in Nottingham. The only time they failed to score was in the derby against Chelsea, when Tuchel and Conte famously argued and Kane’s final 2-2 goal was scored in the dying minutes.
Fornals
The Prediction
There are still too few certainties in this West Ham team to be able to stop the run of a Tottenham side that is on a roll, no-frills and bending over backwards as its manager wants. Spurs favourites in a derby where the total goals will be at least two.
West Ham-Tottenham’s likely line-up
- WEST HAM (3-5-2): Fabianski; Kehrer, Zouma, Ogbonna; Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Fornals, Emerson; Antonio, Bowen.
- TOTTENHAM (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
