West Ham vs Tottenham preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

The 223rd London Derby between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur is set to take centre stage this midweek at the London Stadium on Tuesday. 

West Ham will be aiming for the League double over Spurs having recorded a 2:1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the reverse fixture with second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse giving the Hammers the lead following an early Christian Romero opener.

David Moyes’ side enter this game on a three-match winless streak in the Premier League having picked up only two points from a possible nine. They face the potential of being leapfrogged by Newcastle United who rallied back from 3:1 down to record an emphatic 4:3 victory over the Hammers to remain just one point adrift of the east London side on the Premier League table.

Alexander Isak opened the scoring for the home side early in the first half through a well-dispatched penalty after a foul on Anthony Gordon but West Ham responded swiftly with goals from Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus to give the Hammers the lead heading into the second half.

Bowen looked to have put the game to bed after adding the third early in the second half, dashing any hopes of a fight back from Newcastle, moreso after the trio of Tino Livramento, Jamaal Lascelles and Miguel Almiron were forced off due to injuries.

However, Eddie Howe seemed to be unperturbed by the injuries to his side and the introduction of Harvey Barnes sprung life into the Magpies who began to exert themselves in the game.

The pressure paid off as Anthony Gordon was clamped down in the penalty box by Kalvin Philips and Isak once again sent Łukasz Fabiański the wrong way with a well-dispatched penalty to reduce the deficit.

West Ham looked to have been worn out and were completely out of place as Newcastle kept on pilling the pressure. Fans with West Ham tickets could sense another goal was coming, and Newcastle got a deserved equaliser late on through Barnes and were not done yet.

A good passage of play fell to Gordon who passed to Barnes and the 26-year-old sent in a powerful strike to the bottom corner to send the Geordies into a frenzy.

The east London side will now look to make amends when they host a Tottenham side that are on a 22-game scoring streak in away matches.

After sitting top of the table in the early stages of the season, Spurs are currently in fifth place, three points adrift of Aston Villa and they face the tough task of usurping the Villains to fourth place despite beating them 4:0 at Villa Park.

The North London side went to the International break at the back of a 3:0 defeat to Fulham but returned to winning ways in dominant fashion when they hosted Luton Town last weekend.

Spurs suffered an early scare when Tahith Chong opened the scoring in the third minute of the game. Despite dominating proceedings, they couldn’t find the equaliser as the Hatters went into the break with a slim 1:0 lead.

Postecoglou tweaked his side a bit by bringing in Brennan Johnson in place of Dejan Kulusevski and the 22-year-old made an instant impact in the game when his cross was turned by Issa Kaboré into his net to draw Spurs level.

The equaliser sprung Tottenham into life and they came close to taking the lead through Son Heung-Min and Pedro Porro but their efforts were parried away by Luton’s goalkeeper, Thomas Kaminski.

The North London side finally got a hard-fought winner through the impressive Son after good work from Timo Werner and Johnson on the counterattack.

They now sit comfortably in fifth place and could climb to fourth if they secure victory against West Ham on Tuesday. However, whether their stay in fourth place will be short-lived or long-lasting will depend on the results between Villa and Manchester City on Wednesday.

West Ham Vs Tottenham match details

• Date: Tuesday, 2nd April 2024
• Location: London, England
• Venue: London Stadium
• Kick-off time: 8:15 PM BST, 12:45 AM IST
• Referee: John Brooks
• Assistant referees: Simon Bennett, Dan Robathan
• Fourth official: Tim Robinson
• VAR: Andy Madley
• Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis

Match stats and head-to-head

•Bowen’s 15 goals are the most by any West Ham player in a single Premier League season since Paolo Di Canio in the 1990-00 season where he scored 16 goals.

•The Hammers have conceded at least two goals in ten of their last 20 games in the Premier League.

•Postecoglou’s side have scored at least two goals in 22 of their last 29 Premier League matches this season.

•There have been goals scored by both contesting teams in West Ham’s last five Premier League games at the London Stadium.

•The Hammers have a subpar streak of results at home since the turn of the year, winning just one of their last six Premier League matches at the London Stadium. However, their overall home record is applaudable as they have only lost three matches out of 15 played on home turf this season.

•Tottenham are winless in four of their last five away matches in the Premier League. On a general note, the North London side have only won six of the 14 Premier League away matches they’ve played this season.

•Moyes’ side have opened the scoring in 10 of their last 15 Premier League matches played at the London Stadium.

•West Ham’s 2:1 win in the first leg of this fixture was their first victory in four games against Tottenham. They had lost three matches and recorded one draw during that run.

Team news

For West Ham, Fabianski could start in goal after Alphonse Areola was forced off with a thigh problem in the clash against Newcastle.

Maxwel Cornet remains out of contention while Edson Alvarez will not feature in this contest due to suspension after accumulating ten yellow cards.

Tottenham were lucky every member of their squad finished the game against Luton unscathed.

However, Postecoglou will continue to be without Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon and Fraser Forster with long-term injuries while Micky van de Ven’s availability hinges on a late fitness test.

Predicted starting lineup

West Ham United predicted starting lineup:

Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio.

Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Johnson, Maddison, Son; Richarlison.

Prediction

West Ham are facing an uphill battle to clinch a spot in Europe with Newcastle and Brighton and Hove Albion hot on their trail.

Their shambolic defence could prove costly against a Tottenham side that scores for fun and Moyes will need to find a quick fix to keep Spurs rampaging attack at bay.

While the Hammers will count on their strong form at home throughout this season, Tottenham will need to improve on their away form, especially at a time when a little slip-up could ultimately cost their Champions League chances.

This clash will be a keenly contested game and Spurs are tipped to dominate proceedings in their usual fashion but the best chances of the game should fall to West Ham who always look dangerous on the counter.

We’re predicting a 2:1 win for West Ham.