Spurs v West Ham - Mauricio's preview

Mauricio Pochettino is ready for another ‘special’ derby against West Ham at Wembley this evening (8pm).

We take the field again just 48 hours after beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

That made it five wins in our last six in the Premier League and we now aim for a clean sweep over the festive period with maximum points already gained against Burnley, Southampton and Swansea.

First up though, how would Mauricio and the squad deal with such a short time between fixtures? “Rest, sleep, good food, healthy drink and lot of work with videos to prepare for the game,” he said.

It's matchday! Join us at @wembleystadium tonight for a London derby under the floodlights - https://t.co/iYQKcKe9lD#COYSpic.twitter.com/K3hNxuvHjl

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 4, 2018

We’ve played West Ham twice already this season. In the Premier League fixture at the London Stadium in September, we cruised into a 3-0 lead before Serge Aurier’s red card and a late Hammers comeback saw us home 3-2.

It looked like deja-vu in the Carabao Cup at Wembley in October as we went 2-0 up in the first half only for West Ham to turn it around after the break and win 3-2.

“It’s another big game for us, another derby and derby matches are always important,” said Mauricio.

“We are disappointed about what happened in the Carabao Cup and how we lost, 2-0 up in the first half and playing so well but they turned the game around. Now it’s the Premier League and this is so important for us.”

Spurs v West Ham - team news
Spurs v West Ham - full information for fans

West Ham were in the bottom three when they appointed David Moyes in November. After three defeats in his first four games, he has now guided the team to one loss in the last six a late 2-1 win over West Brom on Tuesday took them out of the relegation zone.

“West Ham have improved a lot,” added Mauricio. “We know this will be a tough game and first we will need to fight and deserve to win.”

PICK UP YOUR MATCHDAY PROGRAMME TONIGHT

Be sure to buy your copy of our official matchday programme for the visit of West Ham this evening, which includes:

- Main feature interview with Kieran Trippier
- Mauricio Pochettino’s exclusive programme column
- Coverage of the players in the community during the festive season
- The stats behind Harry Kane's goalscoring
- Road to Russia: Moussa Sissoko recalls watching the World Cup as a child
- 100 Club: Looking at Teddy Sheringham's exploits in a Spurs shirt
- Wembley Memories with Double winner Maurice Norman

All this and more is in tonight’s programme – buy yours from one of several points around Wembley Stadium, still £3.50 for 100 pages. Alternatively, buy individual issues online here or subscribe for the season here.