Tottenham Hotspur will resume their Premier League campaign after the international break with a fixture against West Ham United on Saturday. The Lilywhites have had a good start to the season, equalling their best start to a Premier League campaign by securing 18 points in eight matches.
West Ham, on the other hand, have had a rollercoaster start to the season, having collected seven points from eight matches, with all seven of them coming in the last four games.
Tottenham Hotspur Team news
Much like West Ham, Tottenham will be missing out on the services of few of their star players including Jan Vertonghen who has been sidelined till December. Dele Alli will also miss out due to a hamstring issue.
Victor Wanyama has a hamstring strain as well, but Pochettino should be able to recall Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen.
Predicted Tottenham Hotspur lineup vs West Ham United
Defence
With so many players out injured, we could expect Pochettino to make some adjustments to the side that secured a narrow win over Cardiff. Left-back Danny Rose is doubtful, so Ben Davies will replace him while Kieran Trippier will be deployed on the opposite flank.
Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez will continue to form a central defensive partnership with Vertonghen’s injury restricting the number of options at the back. Fortunately for the gaffer, Alderweireld has looked pretty solid in recent games and could be key this weekend as Spurs look to keep out the dangerous West Ham attack.
Sanchez, on the other hand, has averaged 1.6 interceptions per game this season. The centre-half duo will have a tough task of facing a pretty fluent Hammers attacking trio.
Hugo Lloris will continue to feature in between the sticks. The Frenchman needs to improve on his somewhat inconsistent performances this campaign.
Midfield
We could expect to see Eric Dier, the scorer of the winner against Cardiff, alongside the young Harry Winks playing at the base of Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1.
Dier, however, needs to improve on his performances following a series of inconsistent displays during the early parts of the season and a game against West Ham could present him with the perfect opportunity to redeem himself.
Attack
Christian Eriksen is poised to make his much-awaited return from injury. Spurs have missed his creativity even though they have just about got the job done. It just shows how much better the team can play this season.
Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura will occupy the two wider roles as they look to provide support to front-man Harry Kane, whose return of form could be a boon for the Lilywhites.
Kane
Son – Eriksen – Lucas
Winks – Dier
Davies – Alderweireld – Sanchez – Trippier
Lloris
Stat courtesy: Whoscored