Match 15 of the Premeir league has West Ham making the short trip to North London to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs started the season very well with new manager Ange winning the first two Premeir league manager of the month award for both August and September. There were even talks of a title race, but those conversations soon stopped as Spurs lost 3 games in a row. Most notable of these losses was their 4-1 loss to Chelsea which saw Spurs go down to 9 men.
However, Spurs have had one of the worst injury records this season with 10 players currently injured. This includes key players: Madderson, Van De Ven and Bentancur. During their 3-3 draw against Man city, they had two fullbacks in Davies and Emerson playing as Centre backs, which shows the extent of the problem for them.
What too look out for:
Romero returns:
Christian Romero has been a stand out cantre half since he joined the side from the Serie A. He is fast, good with the ball and very physical, perhapse too physical. The hot headed Argentine was served a 3 game ban following his red card in Spurs game against Chelsea. But this fixture against the Hammers sees his return, where he is sure to come back with a point to prove after being sidelined.
Bissouma's off it:
The player that everyone forgot about, Yves bissouma. He was signed after an improssive year at Brighton, but was not fancied by managers Conte or Nuno. However during Spurs impressive start to the season, the defensive midfeilder looked like the talent we all saw at Brighton, where he was being compared to Rodri. But in the 3 losses he went missing completely, where in their last game against Man City, he was at fault for one of the goals. Targetting him could be a great way for West Ham to win the ball high up the feild.
Ange-Ball:
Ange plays a certain style of football. He sets up for attack, then thinks about defence after. This involves fullbacks coming into central midfeild, dynamic mistros like Madderson and Lo Celso, and a high line. A VERY high line. The Australian has been accused of being nieve by playing this style against the likes of Liverpool and Man City, as it leaves his side extremley vulnerable to attacks. But Ange has kept strong against this critisism, which means he will no doubt opt for this strategy come Thursday night.
Predictions:
This game will see Spurs have the majority of the ball, I'd guess over 70%. Which will no doubt make for a frustrating watch for the Hammers fans. However this doesnt mean a lack of chances for West Ham, where I can see Kudus and Bowen having numerous good chances to score. I'm going with a goal fest, 3-3, but I can see this game going either way, Come on you Hammers!