You know it’s true, whenever Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United get together- these are two sides that truly hate each other. This is especially true among the two fan bases, and Sunday will bring another edition of what has truly been a bitter London derby as of late.
Both sides are trying to get/remain above a certain magical line in the Premier League standings. Tottenham are in the first spot outside the top four/Champions League qualification, looking in.
Tottenham vs West Ham FYIs
Kick-off: Sunday, Feb 19, 4:30 pm local, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
West Ham Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: West Ham victory 23% Draw 25% Tottenham victory 52%
PL Form: West Ham DDWLD Tottenham LWWLL
PL Standing: West Ham 16th, 20 pts Tottenham 5th, 39 pts
West Ham meanwhile are two slots above the drop zone, but still dangerously close to relegation. So there is a whole lot on the line here. The Hammers will be missing potentially up to six, maybe even eight players for this one.
Let’s try to make a first team prediction for this grudge match, utilizing who we think will be at manager David Moyes’ disposal. This is our best guess.
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction at Tottenham Hotspur
Areola; Ogbonna, Kehrer, Johnson; Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Benrahma, Bowen, Ings
Prediction: Tottenham 1, West Ham United 0
We’re thinking Spurs take this London derby grudge match, and get out of this mini-slide.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.