Michail Antonio is expected to return to West Ham United's starting lineup for their Premier League clash against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The 31-year-old did not feature for the Hammers in the Europa League on Thursday night, though David Moyes saw his side secure a comfortable 3-0 victory at home against Belgian outfit Genk, to maintain their place at the top of Group H.
Antonio has made a bright start to the new campaign, scoring six goals in nine appearances across all competitions, including five strikes in seven league games.
The Jamaica international, however, has failed to score in his last three matches for West Ham so will be keen to find the back of the net this weekend against Spurs, who he has a solid goalscoring record against.
Ahead of gameweek nine, Sports Mole takes a look at how Antonio has fared against Tottenham in recent years.
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Across a six-year period with the Hammers, Antonio has faced Tottenham on 10 previous occasions in all competitions, including nine appearances in the Premier League and one in the EFL Cup.
The Jamaican has scored more top-flight goals against Spurs than any other team, finding the back of the net five times. Three of these goals were scored in victories by one-goal margins which have been worth a total of six points to the Hammers.
Antonio scored in his first ever encounter with the Lilywhites back in February 2016, when his powerful header from a Dimitri Payet corner was all that separated the two sides at Upton Park.
Just nine months later, Antonio found the back of the net again with a close-range header to open the scoring in a 3-2 defeat away from home.
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The forward drew a blank against Spurs in the 2017-18 campaign, but managed to get his name back on the scoresheet in April 2019, poking the ball past Hugo Lloris from a tight angle in the 67th minute to seal a 1-0 victory for West Ham and becoming the first ever visiting player to score at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Antonio scored in his most recent appearance against the Lilywhites in February, netting the opening goal in a 2-1 win for West Ham – a result which helped Moyes' men on their way to securing Europa League football last season ahead of their rivals.
Four of Antonio's five strikes against Spurs have been the opening goal of the game, and heading into Sunday's clash, the 31-year-old has found the net in each of the last three seasons against them, scoring the first goal on each occasion.
Antonio has only been on the winning side three times against Tottenham, but he will be hoping he can help steer the Hammers to all three points this weekend, which would move them above their London counterparts in the table.
Michail Antonio's record against Spurs:
Played: 10
Goals: 5
Assists: 0
Won: 3
Drawn: 1
Lost: 6
Oliver Thomas
