Tottenham Hotspur will be attempting to return to winning ways when they face West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday, October 19, 2024. The kick-off time is 12:30 PM at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
Tottenham’s Form Under Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou’s stint so far at Tottenham has been a mix of promise and frustration in equal measure. Known for his high-risk attacking style, Postecoglou brought optimism when he took over last summer, but inconsistency has prevented Spurs from making a more telling impact so far this season. For all the difficulties of the opening months, performances since suggested improvement was underway-until it was derailed so spectacularly by that dispiriting 3-2 defeat to Brighton last weekend. Tottenham had led 2-0, only to collapse in a second-half collapse that may be exceedingly expensive for their ambitions.
This defeat has brought into question whether this Tottenham team is slipping into the same old groove of underachievement. Coming into Saturday’s match against West Ham, it becomes a pivotal opportunity for Spurs to take hold of momentum. A victory would restore confidence and take some of the growing heat off Postecoglou, while another defeat could really turn the doubts up to a fever pitch about the manager himself and the direction the team is going.
One shining light for Spurs, though has been the rejuvenation of Brennan Johnson. The Welsh striker scored in six consecutive matches and finally appears to be coming good at just the right time. Those could be vital contributions to what could well be Tottenham’s drive for a Champions League place this season.
West Ham’s Slow Start Under Lopetegui
Like Spurs, West Ham United are working through a transitional season under their new manager Julen Lopetegui. Despite heavy summer investments and high expectations for the team this season, West Ham has been off to a dismal start to the season, having won only twice in seven league matches. Of course, this places him 12th in the table with eight points, putting pressure on him to deliver consistent results. His reputation, forged at Sevilla and Wolves, hasn’t yet translated into consistent performances at West Ham.
However, the Hammers showed signs of recovery with a convincing 4-1 win over Ipswich Town in their last outing. The excellent performances of Jarrad Bowen and Mohammed Kudus have been very important for West Ham. Bowen’s intelligent movement and his ability to exploit areas behind defences have made him an ever-present attacking threat, whereas Kudus’s versatility and glimpses of brilliance in midfield gave West Ham that creative spark.
Even so, West Ham’s decent recent record against Tottenham gives them confidence going into this fixture. However, Spurs are a formidable side at home, and this will indeed be an uphill battle for the Hammers.
Team News and Predicted Lineups
Tottenham: Spurs will be without Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, and Son Heung-min due to injuries. With Timo Werner really struggling to find his rhythm, 17-year-old Mikey Moore may find more minutes off the bench.
Predicted lineup: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Werner.
West Ham: The Hammers remain without Niklas Füllkrug, who is still out with a calf injury. Lopetegui will not want to make many changes to the side that saw off Ipswich Town.
Predicted lineup: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Rodríguez; Bowen, Souček, Paquetá, Kudus; Antonio.
Form Guide
That defeat with Brighton 3-2 was a piece of bad news, as at half time the score was 2-0 in Tottenham’s favor. In those previous matches, Spurs had claimed five victories in a trot against United, Brentford among others.
West Ham have only one win from the last five games, but that victory—a 4-1 against Ipswich—was the best outing of the season. Before that, they were going through a bad patch, with heavy losses against Liverpool and Chelsea.
Prediction
Tottenham has been unstoppable at home as they have won three of their four matches in all competitions and scored three or more goals in each of those victories. West Ham, on the other side, managed to get just one win out of their last six. Both teams’ games have mostly been high-scoring games with goals on both sides in five of their last six head-to-head encounters.
Yet, considering Spurs’ overall form and attacking power, they should hold the advantage in this match. Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 West Ham.
