West Ham United travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face Tottenham on Thursday evening in another big Premier League clash this midweek.
The Irons enter this contest after picking up a point in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on home soil last Saturday. The draw with Crystal Palace snapped their four-game winning run across all competitions. David Moyes’ side sit in a respectable ninth place in the table, only three points behind the top seven.
The Hammers will be looking to win the London bragging rights against Tottenham, who are winless in their last four Premier League games and come into this fixture off the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw with Man City.
West Ham Team News
Michail Antonio remains sidelined as he continues to recover from a knee injury, while it remains to be seen if central defender Kurt Zouma will feature after missing the game against Crystal Palace due to personal reasons.
Predicted West Ham lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
West Ham are set to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Alphonse Areola in goal. The Frenchman will need to be at his best to keep a clean sheet against Spurs.
Defence
Kurt Zouma’s potential absence could see Konstantinos Mavropanos continue in central defence. The Greek’s terrible mistake allowed Palace to score the equaliser last weekend, so he will be looking to redeem himself with a strong performance. The summer signing is expected to partner Nayef Aguerd at centre-back.
Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri should act as the full-backs, looking to add width and energy to the visiting side.
Midfield
Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse should hold down the fort in the centre of the park. They will be looking to keep things tight and initiate attacks from deep, with Tomas Soucek adding physicality and goal threat from the No.10 role.
The trio must operate very well as a unit to help West Ham dominate the midfield battles against the home side.
Attack
West Ham were boosted by the return of star forward Jarrod Bowen against Crystal Palace, and the England forward—who has scored in all six Premier League away appearances this term—is expected to lead the line in Michail Antonio’s absence. He will be flanked by Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus.
Kudus is West Ham’s man in form, having now had five goal contributions in his last four games. The Ghanaian will bring creativity and flair from the right flank, while Paqueta hopes to impress down the left for the visitors.
