Round eight of the Premier League season continues on Saturday as the campaign begins to take shape. Saturday afternoon will see several fixtures being played simultaneously with the match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United being a part of that.
This will be a hotly contested London Derby between two teams that have contrasting styles in terms of how they want to play. It is sure to be one of the fixtures this weekend many would want to watch.
Spurs will go into this match as the favorites to win, particularly because they are at home. Ange Postecoglu’s team will be looking to push the envelope as usual as they search for another three points that will take them one step closer to achieving their season ambitions.
The aim for Tottenham Hotspur will be to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season after finishing fifth last season. Last season they were only two points behind Aston Villa who finished ahead of them in fourth but they will have the confidence and belief to beat the Villains and their other rivals to Champions League football.
It's their second season under Ange Postecoglou and the expectation among Spurs supporters is that the team will have a better understanding of the style, the manager will have a core of his trusted players who will be vital to their plans and the new signings brought in will be tailor-made to suit the needs of the team.
The signings of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall show that the club are looking to invest long-term in their manager and they are willing to gather the young talent that will grow into the style and become key players in future as well as strong contributors to a winning team right now.
There are so many reasons to be optimistic as a fan of Tottenham Hotspur. It's a process they are willing to trust as they believe that the eventual rewards will be worth the risk in the long run.
On the flip side, West Ham United’s new era continues to take its initial steps. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui sent mixed reactions throughout the Hammers fanbase. While some believed that a multi-time UEFA Europa League winner and an accomplished manager like him would be the next step, others see his time at Wolves with how that spell ended as a potential red flag.
Either way, the Spaniard is here and he will be looking to help the Hammers return to the UEFA continental competition. He has already expressed his aim to continue the legacy of excellence left behind by former manager, David Moyes and also improve on the heights he has reached and surpass the former Everton boss.
“I feel that we have a fantastic platform. I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.
“I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here and for us it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because our commitment is 100 per cent to be here. We had other opportunities but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.
The Hammers will be hoping to secure all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium like they did last season when they beat Spurs 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Christian Romero gave the home side an early lead that lasted until the second half. In the second period, Jarrad Bowen scored a 52-minute equalizer and the result was turned on its head as James Ward-Prowse scored in the 85th minute of the game to make sure the Hammers return to the London Stadium with all three points.
Match Tickets
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham tickets can be found online for fans looking to purchase. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for this important home game. The North London stadium has a capacity of over 62,000 and this match is sure to have a rocking atmosphere.
The game will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Saturday, 18th of October at 3:00 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
At the moment, Spurs are completely healthy and will have the full complement of their starting 11 to choose from. Last season, fitness was one of the biggest issues they faced in their quest for success and they will be hoping their fortunes change in that regard.
West Ham United will also have no issues turning up for the derby with their strongest team and will be hoping to leave with all three points.
Lineups
Spurs will start the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation as James Maddison will be once again tasked with providing the creative spark and orchestrating the attack. Son Heung-Min will be hoping to get on the end of the chances created by the Englishman
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van De Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison, Johnson, Kulusevski, Son.
The Hammers will feature a central defensive pairing of Greek international Konstantinos Mavropanos and new signing Max Killman while Michail Antonio will be leading the line up front. He will be flanked by Mohammed Kudus and Jarrad Bowen
West Ham: Areola ; Coufal, Mavropanos, Killman, Creswell, Ward-Prowse, Souchek, Guilherme, Bowen, Kudus, Antonio.
Prediction
As previously mentioned, this will be a clash between two teams that will utilize different styles to win. The Hammers will try to exploit the space behind the Spur's defence while being resolute and compact defensively.
Being the home side, Spurs will be on the attack, consistently looking for chances to score by playing their expansive style. They will be galvanized by the home crowd in search of victory
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United
