It’s a game that will mean so much to all Spurs fans on Sunday. We host West Ham on Sunday. Everyone still remembers the humiliation we suffered in this fixture last season, arguably the worst of all the defeats we had last season, and it’s one we’d all wish to forget.
We have the chance to set the record straight and put that to bed on Sunday. In our first encounter in the opening game of this season, we battled away with ten men for over sixty minutes and we snatched an injury-time winner courtesy of debutant Eric Dier. That began righting the wrong of last season so to speak, now we have a chance to cement ourselves in the race for the top four, but lay to rest the ghosts of last season’s nightmare.
Looking back at the mess we were in then and then look at us now, it’s extraordinary the turnaround in performances, passion etc, so I have no doubts everyone will be up for this London derby. It’s a must win games if we’re to stay in touch in the race for a spot in the Champions League next season. As we now reach the late stages of the season, every win is vital as any slip will prove very costly.
Looking ahead this match will have further ramifications as a big win here will serve as a great momentum boost ahead of our Cup final vs Chelsea, next Sunday, so a win here is crucial in that sense as well and being a London derby, there’s a lot of pride at stake.
In terms of the line-up, the likes of Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele, Erik Lamela who all sat out the Europa League game vs Fiorentina, should all be recalled to the side. Eric Dier will likely be recalled in place of Federico Fazio as with Andy Carroll missing through injury, that reduces a lot of West Ham’s aerial threat going forward. Danny Rose is likely to start in place of Ben Davies, whilst Davies is very solid at defending, Rose offers a better attacking threat and can create chances more often in a game.
Where the match will be won:
Last week, West Ham looked very average as they were blown away by West Brom 4-0 in the FA Cup, so that result combined with losing Carroll for the rest of the season, confidence will be low heading into Sunday’s trip to the Lane. We need to exploit this and start quickly as they will likely attempt to hold back and frustrate us, we must score early and force them to come out of the shell which will open them up to our attacks.
The key players to lead us to victory in Sunday:
Danny Rose: As crazy as it sounds, Rose offers us both width and ability to move forward quickly in attacks. Whilst is counterpart Ben Davies is better equipped defensively, Rose offers more going forward and his ability to get up and deliver crosses and scoring chances will be key for us in this match.
Mousa Dembele: The Belgian has become a critical component in the Spurs system in recent weeks, his physical presence on the ball and ability to win balls high up the pitch provides us with the opportunity to get forward quickly and catch teams cold as has been demonstrated in recent matches. Add to that Dembele’s excellent distribution on the ball
Harry Kane: Sounds like a broken record by now, but Harry will need to blow away the West Ham defence like the Hurricane that’s been for us all season. His hold up play and work rate up front means he leads by example on the pitch and it feeds off to the rest of the team that they will win. Harry’s growing influence on the team is clear to see and he’ll need to do that again on Sunday.
