Tottenham Hotspur Match Preview
West Ham United are in Thursday night action again this week but the difference is that it’s in the Premier League. The Hammers now face a double-header on the road, starting with a big London derby at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
David Moyes’ side still haven’t won a top-flight derby match since the 3-1 success against Chelsea back on 20 August.
After Crystal Palace ended their recent winning run of form by holding them to a 1-1 draw in Stratford four days ago, they will be trying to get back on track here and possibly claim a fourth triumph on their travels and they might fancy their chances too, as they are on a three-match unbeaten run, whereas tonight’s hosts haven’t won since the 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park back on 27 September.
The two teams met before the 2023/24 Premier League campaign got underway, as they took part in a pre-season tour to Australia. The Irons won 3-2 back on 18 July and those who are making the short trip to North London will hope for more of the same tonight.
The last time these two teams met here though was back in February and Antonio Conte’s side won 2-0. Now under the stewardship of former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, they are a different proposition!!! Having said that, after an excellent start to the season, they appear to have hit a bump in the road, meaning that the Australian has overseen a four-match run without a win and he will be keen to see his team get back to winning ways.
Neither side has an advantage in terms of preparation heading into this encounter, as both teams played on Sunday so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top here.
Kurt Zouma is available for selection after missing out against the Eagles at the weekend and if he does make a return, then Konstantinos Mavropanos will likely be the man to make way. However, if the Frenchman doesn’t start and Moyes drops Mavropanos to the bench, then Angelo Ogbonna will come into the starting line-up.
Pablo Fornals was the only player to come off the bench at the weekend and if the Scotsman decides to rest players ahead of Sunday’s visit to Fulham, then he could replace either Lucas Paquetá, Tomáš Souček or Edson Álvarez in midfield.
The match kicks off at 8:15pm and live coverage will be screened by Amazon Prime Video from 7pm. The referee is Michael Salisbury.