Spurs v West Ham: No Time to Spoil the Party

by Matthew Harris · Published 25th April 2019 · Updated 24th March 2020

There are certain teams who you wouldn’t mind coming away as the first side to beat Spurs at the new White Hart Lane. West Ham aren’t one of them. The self acclaimed party poopers are getting ready for one of the highlights of their season and Tottenham will need to be at their best to claim the three points.

In all fairness to the Hammers, they should, at least, come here and play football rather than park the proverbial team coach as Brighton did on Tuesday night. An open game is usually a good one for the neutrals but will we be celebrating at the end of this Saturday lunchtime kick off?

Team News

Clearly there’s no Harry Kane for the foreseeable and his absence until 2019/20 is looking increasingly likely. Elsewhere, Erik Lamela, Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko are almost certainly out of the picture while Harry Winks remains a major doubt.

Team selection will largely depend on whether Mauricio has one eye on the Ajax game next week. It’s risky to feel we have enough to beat West Ham with a second string and this is a vital game in terms of Champions League qualification. However, it could all mean that Fernando Llorente makes back to back starts, Kyle Walker-Peters comes in on the right and Eric Dier slots in to midfield.

Confirmed team news will follow but as of Thursday afternoon, this is what we know so far.

Match Odds

Early pricing shows Spurs as the clear favourites for the win and you can back the hosts at best industry odds of 4/9 with Unibet. The draw is the next option on the list at a top price of 4/1 with Unibet again while a win for West Ham is available at a best of 13/2 with BetFred and SportingBet.

It should all be in Spurs’ hands: There is that danger of underestimating the Hammers who will be right up for this one. Declan Rice, on making his England debut at Wembley Stadium could seemingly think of nothing other than beating Tottenham there in the EFL Cup. We clearly should be taking the points and hopefully a more open game will allow us to be more incisive in the final third but selection is also key.

Other Side Bets

Son Heung-Min

Betting on the first goalscorer market is even more of a gamble when you’re not sure as to what side Mauricio will put out. The betting is dominated by Spurs players and it all starts with favourite Son Heung-Min who is quoted at best odds of 15/4 with 10Bet and Bethard.

Fernando Llorente follows at a top price of 4/1 with Black Type and Betway while Lucas Moura will attract interest at a best of 5/1 with Betway again. There may not be quite so much interest in Vincent Janssen at 9/2 with Unibet but the Dutchman may well be involved at some stage and he could be worth a look in the anytime market.

Moving into midfield and we can take Tuesday’s match winner Christian Eriksen at 15/2 with 10Bet while Dele Alli is shorter at best odds of 13/2 with SportingBet.

But what about West Ham? Their first mention goes to Marko Arnautovic at a top price of 9/1 with Unibet and 888Sport while Javier Hernandez can be backed at a best of 10/1 with SportingBet.

In terms of other, common side bets, Both Teams to Score is usually safe whenever these sides play but the bookies have also realised that. BTTS is available for Saturday at best odds of 3/4 with Betway.

As for the total goals betting, you could go over the standard line of 2.5 and get a top price of 5/9 with SportNation or you can push that to over 3.5 and get 13/10 with Betway. There are lots of options but which will convert?

Dangerman

If the Both Teams to Score bet does land then much will depend on West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic. The Austrian may not be prolific in front of the net but since arriving in the Premier League in 2013, he’s notched important goals for both Stoke City and the Hammers.

His ratio has improved since arriving in East London and Arnautovic will come into this game having scored 18 times in 56 league matches. Much of West Ham’s good play will come through the forward and it’s no surprise that he’s been linked with a move away at the end of the campaign.

Head to Head

Historically, Spurs have the upper hand when it comes to the head to head statistics. In 211 games played in all competitions, Tottenham have won 96, West Ham have claimed 63 and there have been 52 draws.

In recent times the stats aren’t quite so encouraging but we have won three and lost two of the previous six encounters. We’ve also won the last two so Spurs come into the game holding the edge in terms of head to head results.

Verdict:

I’m not going to tempt myself into jinxing the result: Spurs should be winning this but I’ll avoid making that as the tip on the basis that odds of 4/9 are just too short to be of interest. Instead, we’ll make this all about the side markets.

Sonny drew a blank against Brighton and rarely threatened but we know he’s our best source of goals in the absence of Harry Kane. As long as he starts, Son Heung-Min should be finding more space and he should also find the target. You could play safer and take Son for an anytime goal but those odds drop down to an industry best of just 10/11 with BetFred.

It’s perceived that games between Spurs and West Ham are always high scoring and that can certainly be the case. The most recent game ended as a 1-0 win at the London Stadium but that was something of an anomaly when we look back through history.

Punters could therefore finish with the safer bet of Both Teams to Score at that 3/4 figure with Betway but we’ll aim a little higher and go for Over 3.5 goals at 13/10 with Betway again. Hopefully, at least three of those will go in at the right end.