Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United will be desperate to clinch three points when they clash in North London on Saturday.
The dreaded international break is behind us, and the 2024/25 Premier League season resumes with Gameweek 8 on Saturday. The latest round of fixtures kicks off with a London derby, with Tottenham Hotspur hosting West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur would have hoped to be the dark horses in the Premier League title race this season after finishing fifth last term. However, Ange Postecoglou’s men have blown hot and cold thus far in the new campaign, winning as many games as they have won in the Premier League. So, the Australian tactician will be eager to make amends after the latest international break.
As for West Ham United, they were slow off the blocks in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season. So, the pressure was ramping up on Julen Lopetegui, considering the East London club managed only one win in the Premier League after Gameweek 6 and bowed out of the EFL Cup. However, the Spanish tactician would have heaved a sigh of relief after the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town before the international break.
The corresponding fixture last season saw West Ham United come from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, with James Ward-Prowse scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against West Ham United on Saturday, the Tottenham Hotspur manager should be bereft of the services of only one first-team player.
Son Heung-min should be fit and available after missing the last few games due to a hamstring injury. In addition, Richarlison (calf) and Lucas Bergvall (niggle) will likely feature in the matchday squad. So, Wilson Odobert is the only absentee due to a long-term thigh injury.
Guglielmo Vicario is the automatic pick between the sticks, with Tottenham Hotspur lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him against West Ham United. The backline should feature Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Destiny Udogie. Interestingly, three of the four defenders are on Real Madrid’s radar.
As for the midfield unit, Dejan Kulusevski has been a revelation in the middle of the park since Postecoglou changed his role. The Swedish international should accompany Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison in the central areas. Finally, Dominic Solanke will lead the line for the home side against West Ham, with Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min completing the numbers in the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
West Ham United
Unlike his counterpart in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout, Julen Lopetegui has not greeted any positive updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The West Ham United manager will be without one first-team player.
Niclas Fullkrug is the only absentee, with the German international recovering from a calf injury. However, Lopetegui is unsure about the experienced striker’s return, thus adding to the summer signing’s frustrations.
Alphonse Areola will take his spot between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Tottenham Hotspur. The backline should feature Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, and Emerson Palmieri.
As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek will pair up with Guido Rodriguez in the middle of the park. Lucas Paqueta will reprise the no. 10 role, with Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus being the two wide attackers. Finally, Michail Antonio will spearhead the West Ham attack this weekend.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
Key Stats
Tottenham Hotspur have only won more Premier League games against Everton (31) and Manchester City (28) than they have vs West Ham United (26). The Hammers came from behind to win the corresponding fixture 2-1 last season. However, they have not won on consecutive league visits to Tottenham since doing so in April/November 1966.
Tottenham have lost four of their last six Premier League London derbies (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 16 (W9 D3). However, they beat Brentford 3-1 in their most recent derby.
West Ham United are unbeaten in three Premier League away London derbies (W1 D2), with those results coming in their games on the road thus far this season. The Hammers most recently had a longer away London derby run without defeat between January and December 1999 (6).
Brennan Johnson has scored in his last six games in all competitions for Tottenham, with his six strikes in these outings more than he had netted in his first 38 appearances for the North London club (5).
Michail Antonio has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than he has vs any other opponent (6). Five of his six goals against the North London club have been the opening goal of the match, with only Ryan Giggs (6) netting the opener more often vs Tottenham in Premier League history.
Player to Watch
Son Heung-min
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While some players have stepped up in his absence, none of them have the perennial game-changing ability that Son Heung-min possesses. The Tottenham Hotspur captain looked in decent touch in his first few outings of the 2024/25 season.
However, a hamstring injury has kept him on the sidelines for several weeks, although he will likely return this weekend. So, that should put a spring in the step of his Tottenham teammates as Son looks to inspire an unbeaten run in the coming weeks.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 West Ham United
Tottenham and West Ham lock horns this weekend after contrasting results before the international break. However, the Hammers have not won consecutive league games since March, although they will fancy their prospects of ending that run this weekend. In addition, the visitors are on an unbeaten run on the road in the Premier League this season.
So, Julen Lopetegui and his charges will have a handy opportunity to continue that streak. However, Son Heung-min’s return will galvanise the home side, although they might not have enough quality to return to winning ways against the buoyant West Ham. The Hard Tackle predicts the Gameweek 8 opener to end in a 2-2 draw.