Sat 17 October 2020, 15:33
Tottenham HotspurWe return to action in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon for our first London derby of the season as we welcome West Ham United to N17 (4.30pm kick-off).
Ahead of the clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we take a look back at our previous outings against the Hammers before analysing all the game’s key information and statistics, as well as the pre-match view from our opposition.
Spurs v West Ham United – Then
In exactly 50 per cent of our Premier League meetings, we have taken all three points against West Ham. In a run stretching back to last century, we have lost just two of our last 18 home league games with the Hammers and have lost three of our last 27 London derbies.
The Irons were one of only two teams we did the double over last season and that means we could make it three wins in row against the east London outfit with victory this weekend. The last time we managed such a feat over the men in claret and blue was in a run of five games between March, 2008, and December, 2009. We scored 11 and conceded just once over that period.
These are the five results in that run...
9 March, 2008 – Spurs 4-0 West Ham – Premier League
8 December, 2008 – West Ham 0-2 Spurs – Premier League
11 April, 2009 – Spurs 1-0 West Ham – Premier League
23 August, 2009 – West Ham 1-2 Spurs – Premier League
28 December, 2009 – Spurs 2-0 West Ham – Premier League
This weekend could see Gareth Bale return to our matchday squad for the first time since he departed in the summer of 2013 to join Real Madrid. His last game against West Ham came in the February of that year – a match in which Gareth scored one of his greatest-ever goals for us as we defeated the east London outfit 3-2 in an end-to-end encounter at Upton Park.
It was the Welshman who opened the scoring for us as he picked out the bottom corner with a well-placed strike on 13 minutes, but our hosts turned the game around with goals from Andy Carroll and Joe Cole either side of the break. Gylfi Sigurdsson scrambled us level with 14 minutes left on the clock though, and then, as we moved into the final seconds of the game, Gareth delivered the magic to seal us all three points.
Despite having been fouled by Joey O’Brien as he looked to make inroads into the final third, we still had possession so the forward quickly got back to his feet and dusted himself off before demanding the ball back from Tom Carroll. Then, all with his left foot, he took three touches to steady himself, a fourth to make a yard of space between him and Gary O’Neil before whipping the same magical boot under and around the ball to send an unstoppable shot sailing into the top right corner of Jussi Jaaskelainen’s goal from 30 yards out.
Like our upcoming encounter, the last meeting between the sides was also at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was once again behind closed doors as we ran out 2-0 winners over the Hammers in a league meeting in June. An own goal just after the hour mark from Tomas Soucek opened our account for the evening as the West Ham man inadvertently sent the ball into his own net following a Giovani Lo Celso corner. Harry Kane then wrapped up the points with just eight minutes remaining, breaking clear through the centre of the Irons’ back line before slotting home.
Here are our most recent results against West Ham United...
23 June, 2020 – Spurs 2-0 West Ham – Premier League
23 November, 2019 – West Ham 2-3 Spurs – Premier League
27 April, 2019 – Spurs 0-1 West Ham – Premier League
31 October, 2018 – West Ham 1-3 Spurs – League Cup
20 October, 2018 – West Ham 0-1 Spurs – Premier League
Spurs v West Ham United - Now
West Ham come into this meeting in fine shape as back-to-back wins in the Premier League – a 4-0 triumph over Wolves and a 3-0 victory against Leicester – have seen the Hammers roar into life. Those comprehensive wins over two of the league’s fancied sides have seen David Moyes’ side rise to 10th spot in the tightly-packed table. However, the east London outfit are heading into what looks to be a tricky period of their campaign with encounters against last season’s top two – Liverpool and Manchester City – to follow Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The statistics suggest that the Irons will be up against it as well in north London having won on just two of their last 18 visits to N17. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho has never lost against David Moyes in the Premier League – his best record against any other Premier League manager. The pair of coaches have met 12 times in the competition with Jose coming out on top on eight occasions with the other four clashes finishing all square. Jose has also never lost at home to West Ham in the Premier League. Yet, following the Irons' recent form, Moyes is confident about his side's chances on Sunday afternoon.
“Tottenham are very much a form team, then after that we’ve got Manchester City and Liverpool. We know how hard they’re going to be – we’re not daft – but I think we’re also feeling that we’ve got a different feel about us,” the West Ham manager explained.
“Opportunities, if we can take them, and if we can defend well enough, will give us a great chance of winning. Our biggest focus now, 100 per cent, is to try and make sure that we get consistency and get a level, and that’s why we were really low after the first game of the season, because we hadn’t seen that. I think we just had a bit of a slow start, but we’re on it now and hopefully with the levels the players are showing, we can keep that up.”
Tottenham are very much a form team... We know how hard they’re going to be – we’re not daft – but I think we’ve got a different feel about us.
Like West Ham, we also come into this game in fine form - one defeat in our last 10 outings in the Premier league, seven unbeaten in all competitions, and we’ll be looking to extend that run on Sunday. However, we are yet to win in the Premier League at home this season having lost 1-0 against Everton and drawn 1-1 with Newcastle United – we have only failed to win any of our first three home games in the division in 1996/97, 2008/09 and 2017/18.
Gareth Bale could make his second Spurs bow with the forward having been in training with the rest of the squad throughout the international break. However, Jose Mourinho admits a decision is still to be made on the Welshman’s involvement.
“Gareth being ready to be in the squad is a decision we will make tomorrow (Saturday),” Jose confirmed. “There is still one day to think, to reflect on what is best for the team and what is best for him and we will arrive to a good conclusion.”
Giving a further fitness update on the squad following the international break, Jose continued: “In relation to everyone coming back well (from the international break), no. Eric Dier didn’t come back well and probably he will not be in the squad for Sunday.”
