Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United will go head-to-head in north London on Saturday as both sides look to put an end to their inconsistent starts to the season. Ange Postecoglou's side are coming off the back of a disappointing result away at Brighton where Spurs threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2. West Ham have endured a tricky start to the campaign, but their last result, a 4-1 win at home to Ipswich, will give them plenty of confidence heading into this one.
This fixture last time sprung up a surprise, with the Hammers coming away with a 2-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals from James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen.
Tottenham Team News
Son and Richarlison are fit
Last time out against Brighton, Tottenham were without both Heung-min Son and Richarlison, who have both been on the treatment table due to injuries. The attacking duo have both returned to training of late and could be involved against West Ham.
Postecoglou also endured a scare during the international break after the Swedish international was sent home due to injury. Wilson Odobert has been out in the last couple of weeks, and he's unlikely to be available for this one.
Speaking ahead of Spurs' clash with West Ham, Postecoglou has provided positive injury updates on Son, Richarlison, and Bergvall...
"Sonny is good and worked hard last two weeks. Good for him the two weeks, he's had a solid week and looking to get back out there. We’ve taken our time with Richy and we have taken time to build his fitness base up. He has worked hard, trimmed down and looks lean now. He's good to go now. Lucas Bergvall picked up a knock but trained this morning and there are no problems."
Tottenham Predicted Starting XI
Son to start
Considering his importance to the side, not just due to his quality but his leadership too, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Son brought straight into the starting XI. Timo Werner has struggled for form of late and started on the left-hand side of attack against Brighton, so we could see him drop to the bench.
It might be a little too early for Richarlison to make a start after a long period on the sideline.
Tottenham Predicted Starting XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Forster (GK), Gray (DEF), Spence (DEF), Dragusin (DEF), Bergvall (MID), Sarr (MID), Bissouma (MID), Werner (FWD), Richarlison (FWD).
West Ham Team News
Fullkrug yet to return
Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug has struggled to make an impact since his move to the Premier League, spending the majority of his time at the club out injured. The German international is unlikely to be available for selection, but Lopetegui is likely to have an almost fully fit squad to choose from.
Lopetegui has also provided an injury update, confirming that Fullkrug still remains out injured and won't be available for the trip to Tottenham...
“[Niclas] Füllkrug is out, and he is continuing to recover from his injury, but the rest I hope will be able to feature. I am going to meet with them this afternoon, but we don’t have bad news about them. The problem is that Niclas had one minor injury at the start, but there’s been a bit of a complication with this injury, and we are waiting for him to recover. It’s true that we thought he would be out for two weeks maximum, but it’s been a month and a half. Hopefully he will be ready for the next matches, but right now he is out. It is true that we had a lot of players in different countries [on international duty], and right now not all of the players have returned. I am going to see the last of the players today and tomorrow, so until the last moment we are not going to be together."
West Ham Predicted Starting XI
The Hammers could be unchanged
Although West Ham have suffered a difficult start to the season, their performance against Ipswich last time out has provided positive signs for the next few months. The Hammers looked in full flow as they struck four times to defeat the Tractor Boys, with Lopetegui starting to figure out his best starting XI.
After the emphatic result, it wouldn't be a surprise to see an unchanged side, particularly with Fullkrug still on the treatment table.