Tottenham vs. West Ham: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Tottenham host their third London derby of the year on Sunday when West Ham arrive at White Hart Lane. 

Full of local feeling, this fixture always has something of an edge to it. West Ham embarrassed Spurs last season, beating them three times. The Hammers then embarrassed themselves by releasing a t-shirt to celebrate "the treble."

West Ham had an excellent start to the season, beyond an opening day defeat at the hands of Spurs, but defeat at White Hart Lane would leave an eight-point gap between the two sides.

Spurs though, have other priorities. A week on from hosting the Hammers, Spurs will be at Wembley with a chance to claim the season's first silverware against the Premier League-leading Chelsea. Before that they must travel to Florence to contest the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie. 

Three vital matches across three competitions in eight days will stretch Spurs' squad and really show what they are made of.

Pochettino, recognising the obvious distractions from this match, told the official Spurs website that "We need to believe, to be focused and forget everything else, forget Fiorentina, forget the final and just focus on this game."

Given that there are 12 more league matches to come after this one, the visit of West Ham seems to be the least pressing, but results around the Premier League could make this fixture a make-or-break moment for Tottenham's top-four campaign. 

With Manchester United having slipped to a defeat in Wales, Arsenal beating Crystal Palace and Southampton facing Liverpool after Spurs' match, this weekend's fixtures have potential to make a real impact on the race for the Champions League places.

Team News

Tottenham have enjoyed a magnificent recent record with injury and their squad remains fully fit ahead of the Hammers clash. However, with the fixture pile-up, Pochettino is likely to rotate some players. Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker are all candidates to be rested, but it is difficult to predict how the Argentine will approach his team selection. 

West Ham welcome back a host of players from injury for this fixture. Matt Jarvis, Winston Reid and James Collins are all first-team players, and their return makes the Hammers a far stronger outfit. 

Squad members Diego Poyet, Guy Demel and Doneil Henry are also available for selection once more. 

New Hammers signing Nene is not available for selection as he lacks match fitness, according to Sam Allardyce on West Ham's official website.

Predicted Lineups and Formations

Spurs rested a number of key players against Fiorentina but will likely return to something like full strength for this fixture. Eriksen will likely be rested, but Pochettino will still be able to field a strong team to take the fight to the Hammers.  

Allardyce has the option of introducing his returning players immediately while he also faces the challenge of getting the best out of his misfiring strikers. He admits that his new signings are struggling with the demands of their first season in England so he could shuffle the pack for the trip to Spurs. The enforced absences of Morgan Amalfitano (suspension) and Andy Carroll (injury) mean his options are somewhat limited. 

Live Stream, TV Info

Date: Sunday, 22 February

Time: 12 p.m. GMT/7 a.m. ET

Venue: White Hart Lane, London

TV Info: Sky Sports 1/NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra

Live Stream: Sky Sports 1 (UK only)  NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Form Lines 

Tottenham 

Spurs 1-1 Fiorentina

Liverpool 3-2 Spurs

Spurs 2-1 Arsenal 

West Brom 0-3 Spurs

Sheffield United 2-2 Spurs

West Ham 

West Brom 4-0 Hammers

Southampton 0-0 Hammers

Hammers 1-1 Man United

Liverpool 2-0 Hammers

Bristol City 0-1 Hammers

Player to Watch 

Allardyce identified Harry Kane as the key man for Spurs in his pre-match piece on the West Ham website. Allardyce admitted that Kane's rise caught the Premier League off-guard but insisted he was well aware of Kane's threat, saying ;"now everyone knows what to expect, the fact he's managed to keep on scoring shows you how good he really is."

For West Ham, the player to watch will be Alex Song. His ability to surge forward and contribute to the attack makes the Hammers a dangerous side on the counter, and he is an excellent screening player, when he remains in position.

If Song is at his best, he can be the difference-maker in both attack and defence.

 

Key Battle

West Ham have the capacity to worry Tottenham's defence which, despite improving across the season, remains fragile. The likes of Stewart Downing and Enner Valencia have the pace and directness to cause Spurs problems. 

West Ham's greatest strength is their powerful midfield. Allardyce will pack the middle in an attempt to disrupt Spurs' supply lines to Harry Kane. Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Alex Song are an excellent trio that enable their attacking teammates to cause havoc. Spurs too are strong in midfield, and the return of Ryan Mason should stiffen their backbone.

This match will be won and lost in the physical battle between the two midfields. 

 

Odds

Spurs are strong favourites to win this match. The bookies at Oddschecker have them at 4/5 while West Ham are 7/2 outsiders. 

Andy Carroll is remarkably 15/2 to be first goalscorer. Given that he's been ruled out for the season, that's not a great value bet. Instead, consider Andros Townsend at 10/1. After his impressive performance against Fiorentina, he could be finally ready to get off the mark in this year's Premier League. 

 

Prediction

Tottenham should win this match. West Ham aren't in great touch, while Spurs have generally been playing well and look likely to score against any opponent.

A tight 2-1 win for Spurs then, possibly with yet another late winner.