by West Ham vs Tottenham – LIVE!
Tottenham may have the chance to bolster their top four hopes when they travel to face London rivals West Ham tonight. A win would move Spurs level on points with Aston Villa, who are away at Manchester City tomorrow night, as the race for fourth place enters the final stretch.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were made to work last time out, needing an 86th-minute winner from Heung-min Son to edge past Luton. First-half performances have been a problem for Spurs, and they have had a slow start in recent weeks. Brennan Johnson helped spark the comeback against Luton and could force his way into the starting line-up.
As for West Ham, they were 3-1 up on Newcastle on Saturday but fell apart in the closing stages to fall to a very frustrating defeat. Kalvin Phillips made a disastrous cameo off the bench and David Moyes has said he needs the club’s support, but the midfielder is not expected to feature tonight. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog, featuring expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick and Malik Ouzia on the ground!
The latest news from West Ham vs Tottenham
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Start: 8:15pm BST | London situation
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How to watch: TNT Sports
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West Ham team news: Areola ruled out
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Tottenham team news: Van de Ven could return
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Standard Sports Prediction: Draw
Postecoglou: Spurs will be in the title race next season
18:41 , Matt Verri
Ange Postecoglou expects Tottenham to be in the Premier League title race next season and says he will not let the club rest on where they finish this campaign.
Postecoglou has consistently refused to rule Spurs out of this season’s title equation, but with nine games to play, including tonight’s derby at West Ham, they are 11 points behind leaders Liverpool and effectively battling Aston Villa for the fourth place.
The Australian has previously warned that it will take time to build a squad capable of competing for the biggest speeches.
But asked if he expects Spurs to be in the title race in 12 months’ time, Postecoglou told Standard Sport: “I hope so, or why am I doing what I’m doing? That’s why I came to the club.
“As someone said to me last week, ‘Do your job, Angus’. And my job is to try to bring success – and if you don’t think you’ll be in the title race in 12 months, I don’t know why I’m here.”
Moyes searching for answers
18:31 , Matt Verri
With an impressive 3-3 draw at home to MK Dons on Monday, Notts County accepted the new position of being the two best attacking teams in League Two and the worst defending; 80 goals scored, 79 conceded, 159 in total over 41 games.
Unsurprisingly, the Premier League has no equivalent, but West Ham may be the closest thing to them, as evidenced by Saturday’s 4-3 defeat at Newcastle.
Few teams in the division have such a talented and dynamic frontline as Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, who along with Michail Antonio provided at least one goal or helped put the Hammers 3-1 up. .
However, no team outside the relegation zone, except Brentford, conceded more goals than the Hammers ’54, the last three which came within 13 minutes to power the Toon’s dramatic late victory.
Given the speculation that David Moyes is destined for more than a perceived lack of entertainment, that’s a strange situation. It’s a puzzle that Moyes has struggled with for much of the campaign, but the solution seems less clear.
Read Malik Ouzia’s full preview here!
The stage is set!
18:21 , Matt Verri
Just under two hours to go until kick-off at the London Stadium – imagine there will be a few more fans in attendance by then.
Standard Sports Forecast
18:13 , Matt Verri
Both clubs are looking good up front but are creaky at the back.
Spurs were beaten at home by West Ham earlier this season and will be desperate for revenge, but may have to settle to a point.
Draw 1-1.
Tottenham team news
18:06 , Matt Verri
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has no fresh injury concerns.
Micky van de Ven returned to the bench for Saturday’s late win over Luton but is likely to come back into the XI at the expense of Radu Dragusin, with Brennan Johnson pushing forward after a decisive display from the bench.
Dejan Kulusevski is the player most likely to make way for the Wales international, which would leave Spurs with two quick and direct wings in Johnson and Timo Werner either side of captain Heung-min Son.
Postecoglou could also consider revamping his midfield following another sub-par display from Yves Bissouma at the weekend.
Rodrigo Bentancur is an option to come into the side but it could be argued that the Uruguayan is better suited to a more advanced role.
Richarlison came through another three games against the Hatters unscathed but may have to settle for a place on the bench again, while Manor Solomon and Ryan Sessegnon remain on the long-term sidelines.
Spurs predicted XI: Vicar; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Son, Werner
West Ham team news
17:59 , Matt Verri
First-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola will be unavailable at West Ham tonight.
The Frenchman suffered a groin problem during the first half of Saturday’s dramatic 4-3 win at Newcastle and, although he was initially able to continue, was forced off at the break.
“He has injured his groin and at the moment it looks unlikely that he will start,” Moyes said in his pre-match press conference. “We hope it’s not too serious, but it won’t be available.
“We don’t see it as anything too serious, so hopefully he’ll be back pretty quickly.”
Areola’s absence means Lukasz Fabianski is set to deputize in goal but Moyes has no other new concerns ahead of the London derby.
Center back Nayef Aguerd is also back in training after missing the trip to St James’ Park but it remains to be seen whether Moyes chooses to bring the Moroccan back into action.
Edson Alvarez remains out as he serves the second game of his two-game suspension.
Predicted West Ham XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
How to watch West Ham vs Tottenham
17:52 , Matt Verri
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 7.30pm.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the tournament live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action right here, with expert analysis from our ground reporters Malik Ouzia and Dan Kilpatrick.
Good evening!
17:45 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of West Ham vs Tottenham!
The two London rivals go head-to-head tonight, with both looking for a statement win to boost their respective bids for European spots.
We’ll have the latest updates, as well as team news and pre-kick-off team news, coming at 8:15pm BST from the London Stadium!
