Who would have predicted at the beginning of the season that West Ham would have the chance to climb nine points above Spurs with a victory over them after 25 games?
Only the most confident or deluded of fan – depending on which way you look at it – is the answer, given how underwhelming the Hammers’ transfer window had just gone, not to mention the fact that the club had just scraped Premier League survival in the previous campaign.
But here we now find ourselves that exact reality, where David Moyes’ side sit in 5th place in the Premier League table – level on points with 4th placed Chelsea. Jose Mourinho’s Spurs find themselves in 9th place and six points behind the Hammers, albeit it with a game in hand, having lost four out of their last five league games.
West Ham United are enjoying an incredible season, but if it is to end as one to remember, beating Tottenham on Sunday could be paramount.
This slump in form for the men from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been rather devastating, as it was only in December when they found themselves sitting confidently at the top of table, with genuine shouts about a title push being prepared.
Since then, they have collected just 11 points from 11 matches and fans are now questioning if Mourinho – the formerly known ‘Special One’ – is the right man to take them forward.
Conversely, in that timeframe, West Ham have picked up 22 points from 12 games, propelling them to the dizzy heights of the Premier League with the genuine prospect of European football come the end of the season.
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It took quite a while for a lot of the Hammers faithful to get on board with the idea that Moyes – previously seen as outdated as a Premier League manager – was the man to lead West Ham in the right direction.
Given how the current season has panned out, however, you would have to search far and wide to find an Irons supporter who is not aboard the Moyes train as he aims to replicate – or even better – what he managed to achieve during his Everton days.
A win on Sunday would go a long way in order to accomplish those goals. Three more points on the board would of course be crucial, but taking those points away from a rival for the European places at the same time would make the value of them even higher.
There is no doubt that Mourinho will be reminding his side about what happened when the two team’s last met in October, where the Hammers managed to make a seemingly impossible comeback as they dramatically drew 3-3, despite being 3-0 down with just eight minutes left to play.
It’s also more than likely that Moyes is doing the exact same, however, and using that comeback as a platform to show what his team can achieve, whilst there should be no fear as they head into this important fixture against London rivals.
A victory would mean fans can start to dream, whilst a loss could dampen their hopes of an unprecedented Premier League season.