Match Focus: Spurs Must Defend Unbeaten Run Against Happy Travellers West Ham

In the only game on Sunday as the Premier League gets back in full swing this weekend Tottenham host West Ham, with no love lost between the two London rivals. Having fallen to three defeats to the Hammers in the 2013/14 season, the bragging rights returned to Spurs last time around, though the spoils were shared in this fixture back in February.

It’s the hosts that come into the game in stronger form, unbeaten in the Premier League since the opening day of the season when a Kyle Walker own goal was all that separated Pochettino’s men and Manchester United. Tottenham have, however, drawn more matches than any other team in the top-flight (6), with a failure to score the decisive goal proving their downfall on more than the odd occasion this season.

West Ham, meanwhile, are behind their hosts this weekend on goal difference alone and boast an impressive away record. Only Arsenal have picked up more points on the road, and while defeat on their last away day at Watford came as something of a shock Bilic’s men have already secured the scalps of City, Liverpool and the Gunners, so will be confident of ensuring another upset on Sunday.

View the full match preview and predicted line-ups here

Tottenham will hope that the raft of players that were off on international duty in the week are not too jaded, though in the case of the players that started with England on Tuesday night a number of first teamers should be full of confidence. There were first international starts for both Eric Dier and Dele Alli, with the latter earning WhoScored.com’s man of the match rating of 8.12 following a fine first half strike, while Harry Kane led the line to impressive effect.

The striker may not have found the net for the Three Lions against Spain or France but his display against the latter was particularly encouraging and Kane will be hopeful of picking up where he left off for Spurs. The 22-year old scored 6 goals in 4 appearances ahead of the international break and was also on the scoresheet in the 2-2 draw with West Ham earlier in the year. Against a side without Dimitri Payet, Spurs will be less wary of the counter attack, allowing their own attacking players more freedom. With an average fair price in Buabook’s match markets of £0.44 I’d be confident to buy shares in Kane around the £0.65 mark for this one.

The visitors, meanwhile, will have to adapt following the loss of their aforementioned star man, with Payet securing West Ham’s highest rating from WhoScored.com (7.68) by a distance. Bilic may adopt a more defensive approach as a result, with the midfield likely to be key in protecting the back four and preventing the likes of Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele from linking up with Kane.

Cheikhou Kouyate will be key to that, and he has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, with a rating of 7.28 enough to rank third for the Hammers. The Senegalese international has 3 goals and an assist to his name but it’s his defensive attributes that will likely be called upon come Sunday. The 25-year old has made 37 tackles this season - at least 9 more than any teammate - and is likely to build on that if West Ham play on the back foot as expected.

You can trade the values of any of the players on display as Spurs host West Ham with Buabook, the first player trading exchange based on detailed statistics