Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United
Things are looking a lot brighter in North and East London than they did six months ago, and on Sunday afternoon two of the Premier League form teams come face-to-face at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs and West Ham are two clubs which have disappointed their fans and neutrals in recent years, though Leicester City supporters will be forever grateful for the way Tottenham capitulated in the run-up to the 2016 Premier League climax.
Spurs have had a gifted young squad which came so close under Mauricio Pochettino, but it is now that they are not quite so young anymore.
Meanwhile, West Ham have spent freely on players who have then struggled to show the stomach to battle their way away from the bottom end of the league table.
But things are changing at both clubs and the early Premier League table looks pretty much okay for the two London heavyweights.
Spurs are handily placed in sixth with West Ham comfortably in 10th place and just three points behind the top four.
Talking Points
Are Spurs genuine title contenders?
Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho is a born winner and no one would expect the Special One to take a job where he thought silverware was out of the question.
The Spurs’ trophy cabinet is rather dusty at the moment and it may be time to give it a good clean!
Spurs 6-1 destruction of Manchester United in the Red Devils’ own backyard sent out a loud and proud statement that Tottenham mean business.
They simply ripped the Red Devils apart and could easily have scored more. Heung-Min Son scored twice, as did Harry Kane as Spurs ran riot.
Son is the Premier League joint top scorer alongside Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin on six goals from four games.
The South Korean striker has the lowest minutes per goal ratio at one every 50 and a shot accuracy of 78 per cent, and he was simply unstoppable when the Spurs thrashed Southampton, 5-2, helping himself to four goals in that game.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane has turned into a chief assist-maker, teeing up six goals for his teammates already.
The latest Premier League 2020 betting odds have Tottenham creeping in to the top four at odds of around 20.00 to lift the title, and the arrival of Gareth Bale to the club has got the fans dreaming again.
“Tottenham have got a good squad, a great coach and with Gareth’s help I’m sure they will get very close,” said Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett.
Well, he would say that wouldn’t he? But Jose may be having a quiet smile to himself, and I agree that Tottenham will be a lot closer than last season.
Hammers are giving value for money
This West Ham side looks different to the overpaid, overstaffed, underachieving bunch of last year too!
Who would have predicted a 3-0 victory away to top four hopefuls Leicester City? But David Moyes’ team fully deserved that win and there is at last a good feeling around the London Stadium.
Striker Michail Antonio has been one of the great Premier League 2020 news stories, netting nine goals in nine league games spanning a period back to July, shortly after the league restarted.
The 30-year-old is in the form of his life and that is helping to bring other players along with him.
Young Jarrod Bowen struggled to make an immediate impact following his transfer from Hull City and was a passenger for long periods as the Hammers fought to avoid relegation last term.
But this season he looks like he belongs in the top-flight and has already contributed three goals.
And creative midfielder Pablo Fornals is starting to look like the £24-M signing Hammers fans had hoped for.
He was the second most expensive recruit in West Ham’s history and he too looks like a different player in this campaign, scoring against Leicester and already contributing two assists – which is the type of form the Hammers paid all that money for.
History
The head-to-head results between these two old London rivals have seen them share the joy, with Spurs winning 27 to West Ham’s 17 in all matches since 1993.
Having returned from injury, Kane scored his first goal of 2020 as Spurs won this fixture 2-0 in June.
The hosts come into this game in good form on a winning streak of three and unbeaten in seven.
Betting Tip
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Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United | Tottenham Hotspur First Half Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.21 |
| October 18, 23:30 (GMT+8) |
For that reason I’m backing Tottenham and the SBOTOP odds agree with me pitching them at odds of 1.60 to win, while West Ham are at 4.75 and the draw is at 3.90.
Mourinho’s men bagged four in the first half at Old Trafford and I think they’ll get at least one in the first 45 minutes on Sunday.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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