Tottenham and West Ham will attempt to boost their top-four chances when the sides lock horns at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. Spurs bounced back from their 3-2 defeat to United with a 2-0 victory over Brighton. On the other hand, West Ham come into the tie off the back of a landmark 1-0 victory against Sevilla, which took them to the Europa League quarterfinals.
Tottenham Hotspur
A resurgent Cristiano Ronaldo was too hot to handle for Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. As a result, the Lilywhites had to suffer an away defeat at Old Trafford last weekend, despite putting up a valiant effort.
But, Antonio Conte’s men did not let their shoulders drop and duly got rewarded against a struggling Brighton side in midweek. Harry Kane became the highest away goal-scorer in Premier League history, finding the back of the net against the Seagulls. The England national team captain now has 95 Premier League away goals to his name, surpassing Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney who had scored 94 goals on the road throughout his illustrious career.
Apart from winning at Amex Stadium, Arsenal’s defeat to Liverpool has given Spurs renewed hope in their Champions League quest. But Tottenham fans will be wary of their team’s tendency to drop points after a promising performance. The North London outfit’s inconsistent form does not speak well for Sunday’s top-four showdown with West Ham.
Now only three points separate Tottenham from Arsenal, who are in fourth in the Premier League standings. That said, the Gunners do have a match in hand. Another win for Spurs on Sunday will strengthen their position in the Champions League qualification race.
Antonio Conte doesn’t have any new injury setbacks to worry about. That means he will be able to field the same team that faced Brighton. Oliver Skipp, Joseph Tanganga, and Ryan Sessegnon remain the only injury-induced absentees.
West Ham
West Ham fans rejoiced one of the most memorable nights in their club’s history as the Hammers came from behind to knock Europa League heavyweights Sevilla out of the competition.
West Ham started the second leg of their Europa League Round-of-16 tie trailing by a goal. Thomas Soucek restored parity, and West Ham held on to drag the match to extra time. In the 112th minute, Andriy Yarmolenko put the hosts ahead, and his goal remained unanswered.
David Moyes will hope to bring their Europa League euphoria into the Premier League, where they have lost their last three outings. West Ham are currently ahead of Tottenham in the league standings, but they have played a game more than their Sunday evening hosts.
West Ham got the better of Spurs in both of their last two Premier League meetings with the North London club. But, the West Londoners were left licking their wounds when Tottenham knocked them out of the EFL Cup in December. They can’t draw inspiration from their away record at Spurs either, where they have only twice in their previous 19 visits.
The match will come too soon for Jarrod Bowen, who is eyeing a return after the international break. Vladimir Coufal and Angel Ogbonna will stay out for prolonged periods to recuperate from their surgeries.
Our Prediction
West Ham will play Spurs in less than 72 hours of their Europa League encounter with Sevilla. They might not recover from the fatigue of such a high-intensity game, and if they can’t, Spurs will reap the rewards. We are backing Tottenham to take advantage of a tired West Ham side and claim all three points.
Betting Tip
Tottenham to win @ 1.75.
