West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur Preview – Spurs should be too strong for the Hammers

West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
English Premier League
Upton Park, London
Monday 25 February, 2013
20:00 GMT

Tottenham Hotspur face a difficult away trip to West Ham United as they look to consolidate in fourth place in the league. West Ham will be looking to take one step closer towards their safety and the top half of the table.

Ladbrokes have Tottenham at 15/2 to win 1-0 at Upton Park.

West Ham United Preview

West Ham United have been far better at home this season than they have been away, which is exactly what you’d expect. They have six wins, four draws and three defeats at Upton Park and the stand out figure is the fact they have conceded just 14 goals at home, which is fewer than Manchester United.

Injuries and Suspensions

George McCartney and Daniel Potts are both out of action ahead of this game while there are doubts over James Collins and Joey O’Brien. Collins is back in training after a hamstring problem while O’Brien has a knock to his leg which means he’s touch and go to be available.

Tottenham Hotspur Preview

Tottenham have a very high ratio of wins away from home in the Premier League but they are sometimes vulnerable. They have a record of seven wins, two draws and four defeats and interestingly, they have the third best attack away from home in the entire division. They will also be on a high following the narrow Europa League win over Lyon.

Injuries and Suspensions

Younes Kaboul and Sandro are the only long term absentees from the side, both unlikely to play again this season. Jermain Defoe is unlikely to play as he’s got an ankle problem but Tom Huddlestone could return to the squad after missing the Lyon match with a knee problem.

Spurs are just the right side of evens at 11/10 to win this game.

West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur Statistics

West Ham United have been held back by their away form which has seen them lose nine games out of 12 in total. They have eight wins and six draws to counter this but the 38 goals they have conceded is an alarming tally.

Spurs have a great accumulative record of 14 wins, six draws and only six defeats. They currently have a four point gap over Arsenal in fifth place which makes it important for them to maintain that with a win.

Head to Head: These sides have met in East London on 61 different occasions, with West Ham edging the head to head record with 26 wins to 19. Spurs last won at Upton Park during the 2009/2010 season.

Recent Form

West Ham go into this game with one win and one defeat so far. They come off the back of a two week break following a defeat away to Aston Villa so they should be fresh and determined.

Tottenham are in very good form so far this month with three wins and a draw. However, the fact they’ve played twice as many games as West Ham could mean a little bit of fatigue in some players.

West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur Prediction

West Ham have the home advantage but Spurs are in better form and are likely to field a strong midfield which will make it difficult for West Ham to get control of the game. West Ham United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur.

Back this 2-1 score line at best odds of 15/2 with the bookies.