Match Portfolio / West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham vs Tottenham – Match Preview
Tottenham host West Ham in a crucial London derby in the race for Champions League football on Sunday.
The London rivals are only separated by goal difference, with West Ham in sixth and Spurs seventh, but Tottenham do have a game in hand as the challenge for European football heats up.
The Hammers go into the game on a high after their thrilling victory over Sevilla, sending them through to the Europa League quarter finals.
Tottenham beat Brighton 2-0 during the week, and manager Antonio Conte said he is pleased with his team’s performance recently, he said: “In the last period, I am seeing a lot of improvement from my team.
“Technically and tactically and in their mentality. This team is much stronger than before.
“They’re working very hard and there is lots of improvements.
“This makes me very happy, but we need to do it every game.”
West Ham manager David Moyes believes his teams form is improving but the match will be a test for his weakened squad, he said: “The team has been galvanised by the performances, we played well against Liverpool and Aston Villa, there are signs that our form is improving.
“I was not surprised by us getting the result as I felt we could do it against a really good Spanish team but overall, we go into Tottenham like any other game but we know the importance of it.
“Against Spurs, you are always expecting a competitive game, and our squad is recovering well so far.
“It’s going to be a big game, it’s going to be a hard game, we will absolutely be tested to the maximum.”
Conte will be without Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp who both are dealing with groin issues.
They will also be without Japhet Tanganga who has been ruled out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. Conte said: “The medical department tried everything they could, but I was the best solution for him to have the surgery.”
After a gruelling 120 minutes against Sevilla midweek, Moyes said he will assess the fitness of his whole squad ahead of the clash with Spurs.
It could mean a start for Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko who has scored twice in his last two appearances.
West Ham will be without star-man Jarrod Bowen, who is side-lined with a heel injury and will likely be back after the international break.
West Ham vs Tottenham – Match Report
Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min drag West Ham back down to earth as Spurs cruise to 3-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
After a Kurt Zouma own goal had given Spurts an early lead, Son hit the back of the net twice thanks to two brilliant assists from Kane.
Said Benhrama scored for West Ham, but Spurs were too good for the fatigued Hammers team.
After a slow start, Tottenham struck early. Matt Doherty bullied Arthur Masuaku off the ball and found Kane whose cross was deflected off Zouma’s knee into the back of the net.
From the kick-off, West Ham came within inches of immediately levelling the score.
Michael Antonio bullied the ball off Christian Romero and found himself one-one-one with Hugo Lloris, but he fired his shot just wide.
It was however pretty much one way traffic as just two minutes later, Dejan Kulusevski found Son in the box whose shot crashed off the post.
Soon after, Tottenham doubled their lead. Kane found Son yet again with a brilliant ball through midfield, Son cut inside, and his curled shot beat Fabianski.
Spurs continued to pile on the pressure, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s long range effort was blocked by Craig Dawson and, Sergio Reguilón’s follow up volley flew over the bar.
Ten minutes before the break, against the run of play, West Ham pulled one back.
Aaron Cresswell’s corner was flicked on by Dawson into the path of Benhrama who slotted home at the far post.
Six minutes after the restart, Benhrama lost possession to Son who made a magnificent run into the West Ham box, he squared to Kane, but his shot was saved by Łukasz Fabiański.
The Hammers came close to levelling it shortly after, a Masuaku cross fell to Antonio whose first-time volley flew just over the bar.
As West Ham legs became heavier, normal service was resumed as Spurs piled on the pressure. Kane played a beautiful through ball into the path of Reguilón, but his shot was saved by Fabiański.
Five minutes later, Kane found himself one-on-one with Fabiański but blazed his shot well over the bar from six yards out.
Just minutes before the final whistle, Tottenham got the insurance goal they deserved.
From a Lloris goal-kick, Kane headed on to Son who beat the offside trap and found himself one-on-one with Fabiański, Son slotted home securing a deserved and comfortable three points for Conte’s men.
West Ham vs Tottenham – Quotes Led Rewrite
West Ham manager David Moyes believes his team got unlucky with the timing of the fixture after crushing 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane were a thorn in West Ham’s side all afternoon with Son appearing on the scoresheet twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Saïd Benhrama did score for the Hammers, but their heavy legs were no match for the energetic and driven Spurs squad.
Speaking after the game, Moyes said: “You could not have picked a worse game to get after our outstanding midweek result.
“The players have been fantastic, they have been unbelievable.
“To go out and give it their all against a good Tottenham team after a gruelling 120 minutes midweek, I am immensely proud of our boys.”
It took just eight minutes for Tottenham to strike.
Arthur Masuaku was bullied off the ball by Matt Doherty, who passed to Kane down the right-hand side, his cross was deflected by Kurt Zouma’s knee over Łukasz Fabiański to put them ahead.
West Ham replied instantly, Michael Antonio winning the ball off Christian Romero, but the striker flashed his shot just wide of the post.
Just minutes later, Spurs doubled their lead. Kane found Son with a brilliant through ball, the South Korean cut inside and curled his effort past Fabiański to make it 2-0.
The Hammers pulled one back just before half time. Aaron Cresswell’s corner was headed on by Craig Dawson, finding Benhrama whose first-time volley beat Hugo Lloris at his near post.
West Ham piled on the pressure for the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but eventually the fatigue got the better of them.
Five minutes before the final whistle, Tottenham scored the insurance goal they deserved.
Kane finding Son with a header, the South Korean beat the offside trap and found himself with just Fabiański to beat to secure the three points for Antonio Conte’s men.
Conte was very pleased with his team’s performance today, he said: “We understood the importance of the game today and we managed it well.
“I am enjoying watching my team improve. I can now see we are a really good team and are ready to face any opponent.
“I have seen great improvement in the mentality and the ability of our players. We are starting to understand and manage 95 minutes in a different way.”
West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur – Inquest Piece
Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min continue to prove that they are a world class combination following Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Kane assisted Son twice in their rout of the Hammers, Kurt Zouma’s own goal was Spurs’ third with Saïd Benhrama getting the consolation strike for the Hammers.
Son and Kane are now embarking on a record setting journey, as two weeks ago they became the all-time Premier League leaders for goal contributions.
They leapfrogged legendary duos such as Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, Sergio Aguero and David Silva and Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.
Including the two goals on Sunday, the pair have now setup 39 goals for each other since they began playing together in the 2015/16 season.
It isn’t the only Premier League record that the Spurs pair have been involved in.
In the 2020/21 season, the set the record for the most goal combinations in a single campaign with 14.
They overtook legendary Blackburn players Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton who now sit second with a respectable 13 contributions.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte had nothing but praise about the English captain, he said: “He’s the perfect player.
“He’s two players in one, he’s a no 10 and a no 9.”
It wasn’t just the Spurs manager who had praise for him, West Ham manager David Moyes said: “He’s a world class player. We just didn’t get it right.”
The West Ham manager’s decision to change his formation from midweek backfired as the Hammers were exposed through the midfield.
The Hammers looked short of ideas for most of the match, the absence of star man Jarrod Bowen limited their attacking threat.
Their lack of depth was seriously exposed when a fatigued Michael Antonio was substituted just after an hour. Moyes said: “We really needed Michail at a high level.
“Spurs suck you in then get it through to Kane and Son. We had most of the ball for the opening 15 minutes, but we were already two goals down.”
The victory for Tottenham almost certainly ends the Hammers chances at Champions League football this season and many could point to the lack of signings in the January window as a major contributory factor.
West Ham looked and fatigued and , the international break couldn’t have come at a better time for them.
But for Tottenham, they hope the break doesn’t disturb the form they have found in recent weeks.