West Ham is riding a high after one of the biggest results in their history. The Hammers secured a place in this year’s Europa League quarter-finals following a tense extra-time victory over serial winners of the competition Sevilla. The stakes continue to be high as they switch their focus to the Premier League this weekend to take on their city and top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The Hammers have won their last two fixtures against Spurs, although both fixtures were played on home turf. This fixture sees them take the quick trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and away fixtures have not been kind to the Irons in this particular matchup.
Tottenham vs West Ham FYIs
When is it? Saturday, 19 March 2022 12.30 PM.
Where is it? Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.
Tottenham Preview Links: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Who’s in form? Tottenham (LWWLW) West Ham (LLLWW)
What are the odds? Tottenham(-140) West Ham (+380) Draw (+300)
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Team News
Despite their onslaught of fixtures, West Ham’s injury woes are being kept to a minimum. Veteran Italian central defender is out for at least the remainder of the season following surgery on his ruptured ACL.
World-class right back Vladimir Coufal will also miss an extended period following surgery on a hernia he was suffering from. The medical staff said he would be out for a few weeks at the end of February. Given that timeframe, we might just see him make his return following the international break.
Jarrod Bowen’s Achilles injury will see him miss out until after the international break at the very least. The English forward was having a career year for the Hammers this season and is a huge miss for an already threadbare West Ham strike force.
Starting XI Prediction
Alphonse Areola was vital to the Irons advancing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The Frenchman put in his best performance in a West Ham jersey. That is notable because it will be straight back to the bench as we restore Lukasz Fabianski to the starting XI.
I got slaughtered for this last time, but I am picking rotation in the full-back spots for West Ham. Ryan Fredericks and Arthur Masuaku will come into the right and left-back slots, respectively. Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson play at center back, purely because of a lack of options. The midfield will see Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice start here. These two are a joy to watch and would not look out of place in any midfield in the world at the moment. West Ham rest Manuel Lanzini as Pablo Fornals returns to the midfield in a more attacking central role is my pick here.
In attack, Said Benrahma and Andriy Yarmolenko flank Michail Antonio. Yarmolenko has been tremendous since he returned to the starting lineup and is becoming one of the feel-good stories of the 2021/22 season for West Ham.
Stuey Predicts
This is a massive fixture. The loser of this match will cease to be a contender in the top four race?. Usually, I’d go on about how Tottenham won their last match, so they’ll lose this one. Given West Ham’s European exploits this past week, I don’t think it is that simple. I don’t do this often, but I am going to sit on the fence and predict a 1-1 draw that will help neither side.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.