Tottenham Hotspur now turn their focus to the League Cup and fellow London club West Ham United after just being involved in one of the most entertaining matches of the season. The score draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against title challenging Liverpool was just the tonic the club needed after COVID threatened to derail their entire season.
After a tumultuous start to the campaign, things are now looking up for Tottenham. If they win all of their league games in hand, they would get to the coveted fourth position in the table. Win here and they will contest a semi-final in a competition that they have a genuine chance of winning. Tottenham won their last EFL Cup encounter with the Hammers, defeating the East London club 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium in the fourth round of the 2018/19 edition.
Tottenham vs West Ham FYIs:
Kick-off time: 7.45 PM GMT, 22nd December 2021
Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham West Ham
Team News: Tottenham West Ham
Form Guide (All Competitions): Tottenham (LWW*D) West Ham (DWLDL)
Besides Cristian Romero, who is on the long-term injury list, the team news is mostly positive for Spurs here.
There are a couple of players who have worryingly seen their bout with coronavirus linger longer than others have, but there are also no fresh injuries to worry about.
Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini will likely miss this one, along with Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, as the pair still suffer from the COVID symptoms that left them out of the matchday squad against Liverpool.
Spanish speedster Bryan Gil is one player who is still stricken with COVID. The speedy Spaniard must wonder if he had walked under a ladder, in the path of a black cat and smashed a mirror.
Such has been his terrible luck since swapping La Liga for the Premier League. Hopefully, his luck will change once he recovers from the virus and the Tottenham faithful can see what this skilled youngster is all about.
The other name on the COVID list is Dane Scarlett. The youngster will also rue his luck. After training with the first-team squad for most of the season, it’s fair to assume he would have been in the starting xi had the circumstances been different. At 17 years old, however, time is on his side.
This could be a classic. If it was two weeks ago, there’s no way I’d have picked Spurs.
West Ham’s dramatic downturn in form combined with Spurs’ performance against one of the best sides in the league at the weekend sees me picking them to win this one.