MY ACCOUNT
– Tottenham have won five and lost five of their 10 competitive games in 2023
– Only Southampton have kept fewer clean sheets than West Ham in the PL this season
– Recommended bet: Tottenham to win
Things are not going well for either Tottenham or West Ham in the Premier League this season but a meeting between the two London rivals rarely disappoints.
With Spurs in pursuit of a top-four berth and the Hammers trying to pull clear of the relegation zone, punters should expect a cagey contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Team news
Tottenham are light on options in midfield with Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur sidelined but they will welcome back Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cristian Romero from Champions League and Premier League suspensions.
Hugo Lloris and Ryan Sessegnon are also still out for Spurs.
West Ham, meanwhile, are missing Maxwel Cornet, Alphonse Areola, Kurt Zouma and Lucas Paqueta, while Nayef Aguerd is being assessed and Gianluca Scamacca and Aaron Cresswell will not be fit enough to start.
The stats
Home is not where the heart is for Tottenham at the moment with the north London outfit having lost four of their last six league fixtures at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But West Ham are also in poor form with only one win picked up in their last 10 Premier League fixtures — and that came against struggling Everton, before they parted ways with Frank Lampard.
These London rivals met three times in all competitions last season and Tottenham won two of those matches, with both victories secured at home.
Prediction
It is a bold move to put faith in Tottenham right now with the north London outfit having struggled for consistency in 2023.
Since the start of the year, their 10 matches in all competitions have featured five wins and five defeats and it is a case of all or nothing with Antonio Conte’s side.
Conte himself will not be at the game on Sunday as he continues his recovery from gallbladder surgery but his side should have enough about them to beat a West Ham team in poor form.
Spurs are still not out of the race for the Champions League places and are a stronger unit than the Hammers, who have dropped into the relegation zone after Saturday’s results.
West Ham managed to earn draws against Newcastle and Chelsea recently but they are frail at the back, having kept only four clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
Even an inconsistent front three of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski should have few issues finding a way past the Hammers, especially given that they will be weakened at the back by the absences of Kurt Zouma and potentially Nayef Aguerd.
Losing Lucas Paqueta to injury in the middle of the park is also a massive blow for West Ham, who lost both of their away trips to Tottenham in the Premier League and EFL Cup last campaign.
