Jacob Steinberg, Guardian, previews West Ham

As we head to West Ham, Jacob Steinberg, football and tennis writer for The Guardian, talks us through the Hammers' season so far and what to expect on Saturday in our latest 'Preview from the Press Box'...

West Ham's form so far

Jacob: "West Ham started with four defeats, the first time they’d done that since 2010/11 when they ended up finishing bottom and getting relegated. At that point, there was a bit of concern with a lot of players arriving during the summer and a new manager in Manuel Pellegrini. The first win followed in the fifth game at Everton and put them on a decent run of form, seven points in the next three games and playing really well against Chelsea and Manchester United in the home games. They defended well against Chelsea and showed a bit more of what Pellegrini is about in the United game. They are still searching for consistency though - typical of West Ham, after two fantastic home games against United and Chelsea, they go to Brighton, don't turn up and lose 1-0. So it’s been patchy, encouraging moments and a work in progress. I do think with Pellegrini they can be reasonably confident it will all come together.”

This game

Jacob: "I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Spurs yet and when they are at their best, they are capable of beating anyone. However, if a few of the key players are still out, it will be a huge boost to West Ham. I don’t think West Ham will sit back. If you look back at the game at Wembley in January (a 1-1 draw), West Ham were very defensive that night but under Pellegrini, they won’t be like that. I think it will be an open game and they will try to take Spurs on. That’s how they did it against Manchester United and the team will take a lot of confidence from the last two home games against Chelsea and United. Chelsea dominated the ball and I think West Ham will have more of the ball in this game. United were more of a wounded beast and West Ham came out, attacked from the first whistle and reaped the rewards. West Ham have the creative players who could cause problems in Marko Arnautovic, Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson. Defensively, they are also better. We also know West Ham raise their game for this one. Having said that, if Harry Kane turns up and has a brilliant game, this could all go out of the window!"

West Ham’s key man

Jacob: "It has to be Marko Arnautovic. He’s had a bit of a knee injury but he scored for Austria against Northern Ireland (last Friday). He’s scored four goals so far and was very good in the win against Manchester United. West Ham are a different proposition when he’s up front. He missed the Chelsea game and they struggled to take their chances. He came back against United and scored the third goal. The change since he moved up front has been incredible."

Key areas

Jacob: "From West Ham’s perspective, it could be down to how well Arnautovic plays and how well Spurs handle him. Spurs are very powerful in midfield, so West Ham will need another big performance from Declan Rice. Also, how the centre-backs play Harry Kane will be huge as well."

Prediction

Jacob: "I’m going to have to go for a West Ham win, 2-1, but I say that with no confidence!"