England Premier League
Sunday 21st February 2021
Kick off at 12noon GMT
Venue: London Stadium
Match Preview:
This London derby is always quite an occasion and there is no love lost between these two clubs. Even without the fans present there will be tension and atmosphere at least on the pitch in a game that feels like a must win for Tottenham.
West Ham have been one of the most improved teams of the season and one wonders if actually having no fans present especially at home games has helped the club. The past problems for the club have been the infighting and the frustrations that the fans have with the club owners. That simply isn’t here at present and maybe it has helped the players concentrate on their performances more.
The Hammers have 3 points more already than they had the entire last season and are six points clear of Tottenham, albeit Jose Mourinho’s team have a game in hand. It does feel like a pinch yourself moment for West Ham because only Chelsea are in the clubs way from being in a top 4 place and that is on goal difference.
Form is good for David Moyes side who have gone their last 3 games without defeat with their last win coming at home in a fairly routine game that ended in a 3-0 victory over bottom side Sheffield United.
Tottenham have lost 4 of their last five games and whilst the club has seen their title chances for this season wiped out with that form, they still hold hope of a top 4 finish. Currently they are six points from that feat but have a game in hand over both West Ham and Chelsea. Last weekend felt like a routine defeat even before a ball was kicked for Spurs and they lost 3-0 at Manchester City, but the club did receive a boost in midweek when they beat Wolfsberger AC 4-1 in the Europa League. In truth it was a much expected win and even Gareth Bale started the game and scored. Just winning again is a good feeling and Tottenham could come into this match with a more upbeat tone about their style of play.
Away from home Tottenham have lost just 3 times but those defeats have come in their last 5 away games and they come into this fixture having lost their last 2 games.
Team News:
West Ham: Michail Antonio has a lack of match fitness and will face a late test to see if he is ready for this game. Fabian Balbuena is only 50/50 to return because of his calf injury and is a doubt. Angelo Ogbonna is set to be ruled out for an amount of time due to his ankle injury. Andriy Yarmolenko is out with his knee injury.
Tottenham: Sergio Reguilon could be back after his muscle injury but is still only 50/50 and he will be assessed. Serge Aurier is expected to miss out again due to his calf injury. Giovani Lo Celsi is still ruled out due to a muscle injury.
West Ham vs Tottenham Head to Head:
Last season Tottenham beat West Ham 3-2 in this fixture.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture there were more goals involved as the clubs drew 3-3.
West Ham have not won at home against Tottenham since 2017.
There is a 60% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
West Ham vs Tottenham Prediction:
There is certainly more pressure on Tottenham to perform and win the game because whilst West Ham will believe that they can win everyone is expecting them maybe to drop off a bit.
We are sure to see an end to end game and if West Ham can play like they have in recent weeks then they can win this game. Much depends on if Tottenham can approach the game with the right attitude, but the Hammers just look very confident in front of goal and they will be up against a leaky defence.
We expect goals in this game, Tottenham has the better team and if Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son are on fire the Hammers will not be able to live with that. But that’s the question, if? It’s very unfortunate that we have this situation with such a good attacking team on their day that sometimes they fail to deliver, but it's because of this we will side with the home team as they have been more consistent of late.
West Ham vs Tottenham Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (0.0 West Ham) at 2.03
Both teams to score (Yes) at 1.70
Total goals (Over 2.5) at 1.90
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