On one hand, West Ham United still have 17 games left this season to try and escape the drop zone. On the other hand, they are seven points behind Nottingham Forest, for the final safety slot, so time is ticking away fast. Unless they can get their season turned around, and in a hurry, the Hammers are ripe for relegation. They also have a notable injury absentee list for this weekend’s London derby at Tottenham Hotspur, as it includes Konstantinos “Dinos” Mavropanos (neck), Lucas Paqueta (lower back) and Mateus Fernandes (undisclosed/unspecified).
Let’s do the team news run-down on the east London side.
West Ham United at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday Jan 17, 3pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Google Result Probability: Tottenham win 56% West Ham win 20% Draw 24%
Team News: Tottenham West Ham
Form Guide: Tottenham LWDDL West Ham LLWLL
Position in Premier League Table: Tottenham 27 points, 14th West Ham 14 points, 18th
Irons Team News
“All of them are recovering [from] different things,” West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo said when meeting the media earlier today.
“Dinos has had a neck [injury] that took some time – it’s still painful.”
Santo continued:
“Lucas is still on treatment. Let’s see – we have a couple of days to go. Mateus is back doing individual sessions.”
So put all three in the “needs to pass a late fitness in order to make the matchday squad” category. Otherwise the West Ham injury situation remains the same.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.