Tonight’s game between West Ham and Spurs is set to be a nail-biting test of will for both teams. Although they may hail from opposite ends of the table, both desperately need the win for completely different reasons.
West Ham are currently 15th in the Premier League, with 39 points – a whole seven points clear of the relegation zone with four games remaining. Though they face a top of the league team who are showing excellent form right now, they will need to pull out all the stops to show that they are willing to fight to stay in the league.
Spurs are in a different sort of situation. They have already secured a top-of-the-league finish, and a place in the Champion’s League next season, though this season they failed to make an impact in Europe, leaving teams like Real Madrid and Juventus as favourites to win.
They are currently second in the league and have been working hard to close the gap between themselves and table leader Chelsea. They currently have 77 points and are four points behind Chelsea. Though their league win would depend partly on Chelsea’s results, Spurs will be doing everything possible to pick up the three points.
A derby of this calibre doesn’t come around often, and with the added pressure of the current league standings, this is set to be a pretty special game. Expect no small amount of scrapping from both sides.
The Hammers are unbeaten over the last four games, with three clean sheets. They have seemed keen to show fans that the game is not over for them yet, and are looking set to return to the Premier League if they can keep up their performance.
But Tottenham are not a team to be taken lightly, especially given their current form. They have won an epic nine out of their last 10 Premier league games, with their last defeat occurring against Liverpool on February 1st. Spurs’ last game against Arsenal resulted in a cruising 2-0 win. Tottenham are a team very much on the rise, and captain Hugo Lloris believes that their success is an ongoing process.
Both teams will have players absent from the match, with West Ham lacking in key stars such as Andy Carroll, who is out with a groin strain, and Michail Antonio, who will miss the game with a hamstring injury. Tottenham are expecting the return of Mousa Dembele in the starting line-up, but Danny Rose will be out with a knee injury.
Although Spurs are firm favourites to win, the derby hasn’t always gone their way. In the last meeting between the two teams, West Ham nearly became the first team this season to beat Tottenham at their home ground and were 2-1 up in stoppage time before Spurs came back to win 3-2.
As if the near miss isn’t enough, West Ham managed a 1-0 home victory against Spurs last season, in a result that they will be looking to repeat during Friday’s game. Manager Slaven Bilic says that his team will be approaching the game in a very positive way, knowing they are up “the best team in the league.”
Victory for West Ham would bring them one step closer to guaranteed safety, as they look to avoid relegation. Failure would take them one step closer to the brink…
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