Spurs have not been having a rosy time at ‘home’ since the premiership started this season.
They have lost to Chelsea and drew with Swansea at Wembley Stadium, their home while work continues at White Hart Lane. Their opponents this weekend, West Ham can relate to this case of home blues because they went through similar wahala last season when they moved to the London Olympic Stadium from their traditional home, Upton Park. They just could not buy a win in their first few matches.
However, the last thing on the minds of the players and their managers will be sharing stories of woeful home records. This is war, this is a London derby where bragging rights are more important than anything else. The players will be up for it, the fans will be up for it. West Ham started the season slowly but they are picking up now, they kept clean sheets in the last two games, drawing 0-0 away to West Brom and beating Bolton 3-0 in the league cup.
Spurs will be coming for revenge because West Ham put an end to their title challenge with a 1-0 win at the London Stadium last May. Manuel Lanzini, who scored the winner then, is not likely to start this game but former Manchester United striker Chicharito Hernandez will.
The only problem is that he has not scored any goals for his new club at home and…er…he has not been scored against Spurs, ever. But hey, West Ham have got Andy Carroll. Well, Spurs have got Harry Kane and Dele Alli. It promises to be a tactically fought battle. I tip Tottenham Hotspur for the three points.
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
This is a no brainer. You can say football is no mathematics and anything can happen, bla bla bla, but on this match, it is as crystal clear as possible that there can only be one winner and that is Manchester City. This is a match-up between a club at the top of the league and the one at the bottom of it. This is a game between a club that has scored 17 goals in its last four matches and another that has scored no goal in its last five. You can bet your house on this, at the end of this game, City will still remain the league leaders and Palace will remain the bottom club.
Southampton v Manchester United
Southampton has always remained an interesting club in the Premiership as per recruitment. They always seemed to get the best players in their academy and have never been shy selling them off. Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, etc, are examples. They have also always recruited talented managers. Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman are ready examples.
The problem with The Saints is that when they meet the Red Devils from Old Trafford, you never know what to expect. Sometimes they come out roaring like lions, others, they come purring like scared cats. United are on a high right now so the Saints will need to bring out the lions to be able to get a result out of this game.
Stoke v Chelsea
This game will tell us more about how prepared Chelsea are for the coming challenge. It will tell us how prepared they are to defend their title. Stoke City is not an easy place to go to expecting a win. When Pulis was manager, opposing players celebrate if they get out of the game without broken bones or career-threatening injuries. But Mark Hughes, a former Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United player who is now in charge at Stoke, has introduced a kind of Barcelona-like flair to the club, hence opponents have it a bit easier. Lucky Chelsea you might say. I believe if Stoke’s defenders up their games, this may end in a score draw or a sneaky win for the Potters.
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