West Ham United have enjoyed a stunning start to their Premier League campaign under manager Slaven Bilic and unlikely as it may have sounded before the start of the season, the Hammers certainly look like outside contenders to finish in one of the Champions League places.
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This is a huge game for both sides as they are in great form.
Levy would simply not pay any part of Adebayor’s wages for him to play in the claret and blue of the Hammers, even though it cost Tottenham over £1million for the former Arsenal man to make just two more appearances for the club before they also had to pay up the remaining year of his contract in September.
“Obviously I know – we all know – how important this is to the fans”.
West Ham will aim to add another significant scalp on their travels at Tottenham, who are locked on 21 points with their fellow Londoners.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side last tasted defeat on the opening day of the season – a 1-0 loss at Manchester United – and have since embarked on a steady assault on the top four. Nabil Bentaleb, however, is out after sustaining a knock to his ankle playing for Algeria, while Nacer Chadli also has an ankle injury and Erik Lamela is suspended.
The Hammers will head into Sunday’s London derby at White Hart Lane on the back of a 1-1 draw with Everton. They won’t have a good picture of the pitch in front of them because Tottenham players will close them down fast.
Son Heung-min is in line to make his first start in nearly two months for Tottenham after recovering from a foot injury. “I don’t think my dogs are Spurs fans, but I will check it. This morning they looked at me a little bit differently!” “He’ll work hard to get back as soon as possible, but it’s difficult for him on Sunday”.
West Ham have won four of their six Premier League away matches this season; they had won just four of the previous 25.
West Ham in fact have two matches left to play this month followed five next month and the 47-year-old feels that it will be crucial to maintain their momentum.
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Bilic’s side have already beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City away from home this season, and with the pressure on Spurs to control the game from the first whistle, West Ham should relish the challenge of hitting the hosts on the break. It was no surprise when Tottenham’s interest in midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate towards the end of this summer’s transfer window was quickly rebuffed by West Ham.
