Overview
Coach Thomas Frank hopes to sow more disappointment for West Ham in the London derby, thereby helping Tottenham stop the decline in form.
Spurs were just eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa last weekend, putting increasing pressure on Frank. The North London team is currently only ranked 14th in the Premier League and has only won one of their last 7 matches in all competitions before welcoming West Ham at Tottenham Hotspur.
The situation of the away team is even more gloomy. Under the leadership of Nuno Espirito Santo, West Ham is ranked 18th, 7 points behind the safe zone and has not won any match in the last 10 rounds of the Premier League (4 draws, 6 losses). This is their longest winning streak since the 2006-2007 period.
More worryingly, West Ham has lost all 6 London derby matches in the Premier League this season. In the league history, only Fulham and Queens Park Rangers have experienced a longer derby defeat streak in London.
The upcoming match also has personal meaning for Nuno, as this is the third consecutive time he has faced an old team in the Premier League. Previously, he lost to Wolves 0-3 and Nottingham Forest 1-2. Only two coaches who had a similar series of matches are Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce.
However, Nuno has a fairly good record against Tottenham, winning three out of five Premier League encounters, including a win with Forest last season.
In the opposite direction, Spurs are having serious problems at home. They have only won 4 in the last 24 Premier League matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with 2 home wins this season. This is Spurs' worst record after 10 home matches in a season.
Notably, 6 of Spurs' 7 wins in the Premier League this season all came from clean sheets. In fact, they have only won one of their last 21 matches in the league when conceding at least one goal.
This confrontation can be decided by high ball situations. West Ham have conceded 11 headers in the Premier League this season, while only Arsenal scored more headers than Tottenham. West Ham is also the team that conceded the most from corner kicks, in contrast to Spurs - the team that scored the most goals.
In terms of force, Frank may give Conor Gallagher a debut opportunity after this player moves from Atletico Madrid. However, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison are definitely absent.
On West Ham's side, Lucas Paqueta leaves open the possibility of playing due to a back injury, while Mateus Fernandes is undergoing fitness checks. Lukasz Fabianski and Konstantinos Mavropanos are definitely unable to play.
Head-to-head record
West Ham has no impressive head-to-head record against Tottenham recently. They have only won once in the last eight encounters between the two teams in the Premier League (3 draws, 4 losses).
However, that rare victory took place right at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where West Ham defeated Spurs with a score of 2-1 in December 2023.
In the opposite direction, Tottenham won convincingly 3-0 against West Ham at the London Stadium in September. "The Spurs" are facing the opportunity to complete a double victory against their city rivals for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
Score prediction: Tottenham 1-0 West Ham
The match between Tottenham and West Ham takes place at 10:00 PM on January 17 (Vietnam time).
