The Tottenham train just keeps on rolling in the early stages of the 2022/23 Premier League season. If they can continue their good start in this midweek fixture against West Ham United, Tottenham will win their 100th London Derby on Wednesday.
A quarter of these London Derby victories have come against this week’s opponents. Spurs have defeated the Hammers 25 times in Premier League action. Only against Everton and Manchester City have the North Londoners been victorious more often.
Antonio Conte’s men come into this match on the back of a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest just a few days ago. Harry Kane bagged a double once again as he moved into third place, all time, on the EPL goal scoring charts at 187. Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer are ahead of the Tottenham star, and he is backing himself to be on top of that chart when all is said and done.
“I have years left in the locker,” Kane told the media after drawing level with the legendary Andy Cole.
Tottenham at West Ham FYIs
Kick-off: Sunday, Aug 31, 7:45 pm local, London Stadium
Tottenham Starting XI Preview Material: go Here
West Ham Team News, Starting XI Prediction: go here
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
Google Result Probability: West Ham victory 26% Draw 26% Tottenham victory 48%
Team News
With the games coming thick and fast, Spurs seem well positioned to deal with the onslaught of fixtures coming their way.
Lucas Moura remains out with a recurring tendon injury. The injury usually takes him a week or two to recover from. The Brazilian missed the club’s last match against Forest, but he will be back in training by the end of the month.
The same is true for Bryan Gil. The Spaniard suffered a knock prior to the Nottingham Forest match, which caused him to miss training.
This game will come around too quickly for him to be in contention for selection. We do expect him to be available for the club’s match this coming weekend.
In news that is nothing short of miraculous, Oliver Skipp is allegedly available for selection again. I’ll believe it when I see it, however. Cristian Romero is also available after missing the last couple of games with injury. Also, Tuesday saw the club announce that his loan deal has now become a permanent arrangement.
Reports say that he’ll stay at the club until 2027, and for the low low price of just €55 million ($65m).
Stuey’s Two Cents
Both sides come into this one on the back of victories. Spurs are a real heavyweight this season and have a world-class manager to guide them. West Ham needed some Pablo Fornals magic in order to secure their first points of the season. A London derby is a London derby, however, and I feel both sides will be up for the chance to get one over on their bitter rivals.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He also co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.