West Ham United V Tottenham Hotspur

English Premiership 2009/2010

West Ham United V Tottenham Hotspur

Kick-Off: Saturday 23^rd August – 13:30 GMT 

Venue: Upton Park

Another London derby sees West Ham entertain an in-form Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park with both sides aiming to extend their 100% starts to the season. West Ham are gunning for back-to-back victories after success over newly promoted Wolves at the weekend while Spurs have claimed the early scalp of Liverpool and thumped Hull in midweek so something has got to give. Tottenham have looked stunning though in their opening games and the bookies have taken dramatic action by slicing their odds to win this game and making them 6/4 favourites with StanJames while West Ham are as big as 21/10 with Bet365.

West Ham got their season off to a flyer with victory away at Wolves but when you compare their performance on the day to both of Tottenham’s efforts then there’s only one winner. West Ham will need to up their game ahead of this clash with local rivals because Tottenham have certainly upped theirs. If ‘The Hammers’ play like they did against Wolves then they may just struggle, especially if they fail to create as many openings as they did at weekend.

It took a beautiful strike from Mark Noble to open the scoring for West Ham against Wolves on Saturday and that led the way for Matthew Upson to head home for West Ham’s second. However, before that fine strike West Ham were struggling to convert any of the chances they did create and if it takes a wonder goal to spring West Ham into action then that’s a huge concern. It’s hard to see West Ham scoring enough scrappy goals this season with Gianfranco Zola clearly trying to turn West Ham into a team that plays pretty football. At times that can be great to watch but it doesn’t always get you the results the fans crave and this could lead to a conflict of opinions between the fans and the manager if results don’t go their way. A scrappy performance is needed every once in a while and this does appear a match where West Ham will need to do just that if they’re to come away celebrating.

Harry Redknapp must be on top of the world after seeing his side dismantle Liverpool at White Hart Lane last Saturday and demolish Hull City at The KC on Wednesday night. Two victories that coincide with two very impressive team displays, more notably from Jermaine Defoe. The England forward didn’t even make the score sheet against Liverpool but that proved the catalyst the Hull fans did not want as Defoe was a man possessed in front of goal against the ‘Tigers’. Three goals from Defoe from three fine strikes will give the striker bags of confidence heading into this game and he will certainly be the player to watch in this fixture.

Although Tottenham’s performances in their two wins over Liverpool and Hull were sublime, Harry Redknapp mustn’t let the hype of the fans get to his players heads. Fans are already eyeing up league success with both Man Utd and Liverpool already suffering defeats so early on so it’s down to Redknapp to keep Tottenham firmly on the ground. Spurs need not get ahead of themselves and it’s penetrative that Spurs carry on playing the football that has won them so many plaudits so far.

Head-to-Head: West Ham W:2 Tottenham W: 6 Draws: 2

Tottenham have dominated this fixture in recent meetings, allowing West Ham to win just two of the last eight encounters. Tottenham completed a league double over ‘The Hammers’ last season when they beat West Ham both at home and at Upton Park. That could prove crucial as West Ham will now be hungry to avenge that defeat although they’ve not had much luck at home against Tottenham. They’ve failed to get the better of Spurs in their last three home encounters in the Premiership with their last win at home over their rivals coming back in 2006. It’s also worth mentioning that this clash has generally been a low scoring affair but does spring a surprise every now and again with a goal feast.

Match Verdict: Tottenham to WIN a thriller at Upton Park – 6/4 BetFred

West Ham were a very tough side to get the better off last season, especially at Upton Park. They don’t allow the opposition much time on the ball and work their socks off to regain possession whenever they don’t have the ball. However, they’re facing a Tottenham side who like to attack at some pace and that could become a problem for West Ham. The first 15 minutes or so will make for crucial viewing because if West Ham allow Spurs to get on top early on, West ham could get punished.

Match Odds:

West Ham – 21/10 Bet365

Tottenham Hotpspur – 6/4 BetFred

Draw – 12/5 Boylesports

SoccerBetting Tip: Over 3.5 Goals – 9/4 PaddyPower