West Ham host Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night in the League Cup. The winner of the fourth-round tie will move into the last eight of the competition and the EFL Cup trophy will be within their sights.
West Ham go into the match having dismantled Macclesfield Town 8-0 in the previous round. Meanwhile, Tottenham needed penalties to dispatch Premier League side Watford. Compared to West Ham running riot over Macclesfield, Tottenham’s game with Watford was a classic back and forth affair that saw three goals in the last 10 minutes. Now, Tottenham will hope for a much easier contest against their London rivals.
The match will be the second meeting between the two teams in a matter of weeks. Spurs defeated West Ham two weeks ago, 1-0, before losing to Manchester City by the same scoreline. Tottenham go into the fixture on short rest as they played Manchester City on Monday night. Spurs looked tired during the top of the table clash and their decision to go without a single summer transfer looks to be causing issues.
Injuries are an issue for Mauricio Pochettino as Danny Rose and Dele Alli are still unfit. Alli has missed four games and Spurs’ dynamic attack hasn’t looked the same. Christian Eriksen was only fit enough to play as a substitute against Manchester City, but he should be in the starting XI on Wednesday.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Hammers are winless in their last three Premier League matches. Most recently, the Hammers drew with Leicester 1-1. West Ham started the season poorly before a slight improvement in league results. However, the Hammers have once again fallen on hard times and cannot get the scoring they need to win matches.
Although West Ham tallied eight goals in their third-round EFL Cup game, they average just 0.9 goals a match in the Premier League. Pellegrini’s men have tallied two goals in their last three matches.
Marko Arnautovic is West Ham’s top scorer with four Premier League goals. Meanwhile, record transfer signing Felipe Anderson continues to flatter to deceive. The Brazilian has not been good since arriving at the club scoring just one goal and tallying one assist in 10 games. West Ham will be without forward Andriy Yarmolenko who underwent Achille’s tendon surgery following the Hammers’ loss to Tottenham two weeks ago.
Despite Tottenham’s injuries, they have a more talented side than West Ham. Spurs will get past their London rivals and continue their march toward the EFL Cup trophy. West Ham, who could fall into a relegation fight, will resume their focus on the league and survival.