West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

West Ham United FC will host Tottenham Hotspur FC in the English Premier League 31st-round match at the London Stadium. The fixture will take place on Wednesday, April 3, beginning at 00:45 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

West Ham News & Current Form: 

For West Ham, the current campaign of the English championship is going much better than the previous one. Then the Londoners even had to fight for survival in the elite division, and now they are showing very decent results, sitting on the seventh line in the EPL standings, which means that the team is still in the race for the European Cup zone. 

After a series of bad results, the Hammers rehabilitated themselves in front of the fans, as evidenced by their series of four matches without defeat. First, the guests defeated Brentford FC (4:2) and Everton FC (1:3), and then shared points with Burnley FC (2:2) and Aston Villa FC (1:1). An accurate header from Michail Antonio was answered by a goal from Nicolo Zaniolo 11 minutes before the end of the main time.

After a 2-week break Londoners traveled to visit Newcastle United FC. This match turned out to be a real football masterpiece, full of drama and unexpected turns of events. The meeting with such an opponent ended in a painful minimal defeat for the wards of David Moyes (3:4). 

Newcastle, although in a crisis situation, showed their vigor and determination on the field. They started the game seemingly according to plan, opening the scoring with a penalty converted by Alexander Isak.

However, injuries and unfortunate substitutions played their part and the Black and Whites found themselves on the receiving end of blows from West Ham. Moyes’ wards successfully used counterattacks and twice outscored their opponent, leading already 1:3.

Despite the difficulties, the Magpies did not give up. A bold substitution and pressure in the second half got them back into the game. Two penalties and a goal from Harvey Barnes brought them an equalizer, and Barnes’ superb strike at the end of the match brought them a 4:3 victory.

This victory shows not only Newcastle’s fighting spirit but also their ability to take decisive action at key moments of the game. On the other hand, West Ham, although they showed their mettle on the pitch, missed their chance to win due to their cautious play after gaining a two-goal advantage. Both coaches deserve to be recognized for their tactical decisions and skill in leading the team. 

“We’re all very disappointed, because we felt we were in control. But we’ve just got to stand tall and put it behind us, because we’re back at it in just a few days’ time.”

“When you’re 3:1 up like we were, you just can’t end up losing 4:3. We shot ourselves in the foot and gave away that lead, which is hard to take, but we have to analyze what went wrong and learn from it ready for Wednesday.”

“We’re all gutted at the moment, but tomorrow is a new day and we have to make sure we’re ready. There’s lots of football left to play this season and we need to pick up as many points as we can,” top scorer of the team Jarrod Bowen gave a comment after the defeat.

As for the Eurocups, the team from the capital easily defeated SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League (5:1 on aggregate of two matches) and in the quarterfinals will meet with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who categorically refuse to lose this season and are still leading in the Bundesliga with a gap of 13 points from FC Bayern Munich.

Main goalkeeper of West Ham Alphonse Areola sustained an injury in the game against Newcastle United

The root of the team’s failures – unreliable defense, the Hammers concede too much (54 goals in 30 rounds), because of which they actively lose points. David Moyes uses different strategies, even low closed football does not save from failures near the goal and missed goals. It is also worth noting that the Londoners have not lost at home since February 11. Then the team on its field on all accounts lost to title contender Arsenal FC with a crushing score of 0:6.

In addition, a serious personnel loss has been added: in the last round, the main goalkeeper of the club Alphonse Areola got injured. His participation in the next match is in doubt.

Tottenham Hotspur News & Current Form: 

The club is not participating in European competitions this season, and it has managed to drop out of all national cup competitions a long time ago, and therefore can focus only on the Premier League, where there is a good chance to compete for a place in the UEFA Champions League next year. 

Tottenham are currently in 5th place in the Premier League standings and are 3 points behind the top four teams. Ange Postecoglou came to the capital club last summer and brought a smile back on the faces of the fans, especially mightily the Londoners spent the initial part of the championship, as a result of which they found themselves in the leaders of the EPL, but this was followed by a crisis. 

Gradually the Spurs coped with it, and therefore now we see good results in their performance. After impressive victories over Crystal Palace FC (3:1) and Aston Villa (0:4), the Spurs suffered a heavy defeat to Fulham FC just before the international break (3:0). 

The double of Rodrigo Muniz and a goal condemned the Whites to their seventh failure in the Premier League this season, which also put an end to their magnificent 39-match scoring streak. However, the hosts have been very convincing at home and have picked up six wins in their last seven matches at home.

Ange Postecoglou’s side picked up a 2:1 win over top division newcomers Luton Town FC in the last round. It was the third win in the last four matches in the championship (there was still one defeat). 

The team is dangerous not only in their arena, but also away: in the current championship Tottenham distinguished themselves 30 times in 14 away matches. In the EPL, only Arsenal have scored more in away games – 34 goals. 

Speaking about the previous meetings of the upcoming opponents, Tottenham lost in the derby to West Ham in the 15th round of the EPL, having led with a score of 1:0. And all would be nothing if the hosts had played worse the whole match, but no – they dominated and seemed to have to take the three points, however, something went wrong.

The Spurs started the match with a total advantage. After the opening 10 minutes, the hosts had possession 92% of the time – an astonishing figure. And by the end of the first half-hour of play, they had made 18 passes in the penalty area, while the opponent had only one. Such an advantage could not but affect the score: in the 11th minute, Cristian Romero opened the scoring after a corner kick from Pedro Porro.

There was a feeling that the plot of this game was clear: Tottenham would score one more goal before the break and the game would be over. But Postecoglou’s side failed to score the second goal, and after the break it was a nightmare. 

Goalie of the Spurs – Guglielmo Vicario

In the 52nd minute, West Ham started to get back into the game, and a seemingly fast attack turned into a somewhat slow one: Jarrod Bowen passed to Mohammed Kudus, who shot from distance. The ball hit first one Tottenham player, then another. And then it bounced back to the same Bowen, who immediately oriented himself and fired a shot at Guglielmo Vicario.

In the 74th minute, Destini Udogie was fazed and under pressure, he sent a pass back to the onrushing Bowen, but not to the goalkeeper. Jarrod didn’t get to the ball as Vicario came out of his goal and knocked it straight to the foot of James Ward-Prowse. He first charged onto the bar before scoring at the second attempt into the empty net. After such mistakes, Tottenham were clearly baffled. It didn’t really work out for the rest of the match: the meeting ended with a victory for the visitors. 

West Ham form guide: W-L-D-W-D-L

Tottenham Hotspur form guide: W-L-W-W-L-W

West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur Head-To-Head Record:

• August 31, 2022: West Ham United 1 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League);
• February 19, 2023: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 West Ham United (Premier League);
• December 7, 2023: Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 West Ham United (Premier League).

West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI:

West Ham’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio.

Tottenham Hotspur’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Johnson, Maddison, Son; Richarlison.

Statistical preview of the match West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur:

• West Ham’s First XI average age is 29.7 years, Tottenham’s First XI average age is 25.5 years.
• The total value of the hosts’ squad is 446 mln euros, while the total of guests comes up to 777 mln euros.
• John Brooks has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served 23 games this season, showing an average of 4 yellow cards and also whistles 22 fouls per game. 
• Both teams have distinguished themselves in the last five matches of West Ham in the EPL. In March, the club won only one victory in the EPL. 
• Tottenham have only one win in five previous duels in the championship away (2 draws and 2 defeats).
• In the first round, the Spurs unexpectedly lost at home with a score of 1:2.

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Hammers David Moyes ahead of the London derby at the London Stadium:

“The result against Newcastle was very hard to take, and I still don’t think their second penalty should have been given. Overall, I thought we should have been much more physical and harder to play against in the closing stages of the game, and I think the players would agree with that. I have to give Newcastle some credit as well, and it is what it is.”

“It’s a quick turnaround and we’ve got another game now, and we’ll get ourselves ready to go again. It’s a London derby, so hopefully the crowd will be right behind us and we can get out on the front foot.”

“We want to keep the good times coming, and a London derby is something that’s easy to get excited about. We’re looking forward to it, and hopefully we can pick up the right result.”

“Tottenham have done really well this season, and they continue to do so, so we know it’s going to be a tough game. Ange Postecoglou has done a great job – they started brilliantly, and they’ve been up there towards the top of the table the whole time. We did pick up a good win at their place in December. This is an entirely different fixture, but hopefully we can get all three points again.”

“We’ll keep knocking on the door for European qualification, and we’ve got an idea in our heads about how many more points and wins we’re going to need to do that. We’ve just got to keep at it, in every game. We were close to picking up a victory at the weekend, but didn’t quite get over the line, and we have to go again here.”

Ange, coach of the Spurs, about finishing the season right:

“We want to finish the season strong and keep building on the foundation of being a team that hopefully in 12 months’ time people are looking at us differently and talking about us differently. To do that it can’t just be about where you finish and how many points you get, it’s got to be more than that. Obviously if we finish strong then we’ll finish in a decent position and we’ll see where that takes us.”

West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction:

West Ham’s gap from the European Cup zone is 12 points, which will be extremely difficult to offset in the eight remaining matches, and therefore the Hammers have no global motivation in the EPL, all forces and hopes will be directed to the UEL quest, where in the quarter-finals they are set to have a difficult trip to Leverkusen to face formidable Bayer 04. Of late, David Moyes’ boys have been able to find their rhythm and started to play with confidence, showing more attacking football, however, the defence does not provide the necessary reliability (5th most conceding in the league), which affects the stability of results and high totals: 7 of the last 10 matches in all tournaments have seen more than 2.5 goals scored. Quite often the Hammers’ opponents manage to find a good timing to impose their initiative and dictate the game, and that’s when West Ham encounters troubles. In the last round Londoners seemed to show a great game against Newcastle, but, when the opponent turned on the press and were attacking right up to the final whistle, Jarrod Bowen and his teammates could not find counter-arguments.

Tottenham have a completely different league situation, they are in fifth position and are only three points off the Champions League zone, with a game in hand over their main challenger, Aston Villa. Qualification for the UCL is by and large the main and only goal of the Black and Whites now, and therefore the approach to each match on the way to it is as combative and serious as possible. Moreover, Ange Postecoglou’s men are on a good run right now, winning three of their last four fixtures. In the current season, Spurs are showing bright, and productive football, playing brilliantly in positional attack, and creating many dangerous moments: their matches see an average of 3.59 goals scored – a high figure by the EPL standards. Away, the Black and Whites have scored at least two goals in 6 of their last 7 games in the Premier League, and only Arsenal have scored more away throughout the 23/24 season, 34 vs 30. The level of opposition does not scare them: for instance, Son Heung-min and his partners have netted three goals at the Etihad Stadium and four at Villa Park.

Tottenham will go to the London Stadium determined to take all three points. The teams play with an emphasis on attack, which is why we can expect a goal-scoring game. At the same time, Spurs are feeling assertive in away matches, and their performance is more balanced and stable, also due to a more cohesive defensive system, which makes them favourites for this London derby. 

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Tottenham will not lose and the match total will be over 2.5 – Yes.