Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Premier League match.
The last round almost levelled the teams in the league standings, but beating Ipswich Town is quite different from defeating Tottenham Hotspur. Can West Ham United extend their unbeaten run against Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur started their seventh-round match against Brighton with a strong performance but ended it with a disappointing result.The game turned around in less than 20 minutes during the second half. Brighton scored three goals against Tottenham Hotspur, which was quite rare. It was the first time this season and was last seen on May 5th in an away match against Liverpool (4:2). At their own stadium, Tottenham conceded three or more on April 28th against Arsenal (2:3). Notice how only top clubs manage to score that many? In the recent past, West Ham only achieved such a feat in a pre-season friendly before last season (3:2).
West Ham United
For West Ham United, conceding three or more is not that challenging, especially against top clubs. This season, they've already conceded five to Liverpool (1:5 in the League Cup) and three each to Manchester City (1:3) and Chelsea (0:3). Opponents typically don't score more against West Ham than the chances they create would suggest. For West Ham, the match against Ipswich Town was an anomaly: they've never created so many chances (3.79 xG) against any other team, resulting in a resounding 4:1 win.
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur's defence is more reliable and unlikely to concede more than two goals. The last time West Ham scored that many at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was last season (2:1), but the opponents were plagued with injuries back then. Currently, injuries affect only their attack (Son Heung-min, Richarlison de Andrade, Wilson Odobert), but Brennan Johnson is on fire, scoring in seven consecutive games, including for Wales, and Dominic Solanke has maintained a scoring streak, with contributions in three recent matches for Tottenham Hotspur. A double chance for the hosts, combined with a total over, looks favourable given their attackers' peak form.
