Joe Cole: 'Jermain Defoe can hurt West Ham United'

Joe Cole has said that he expects Jermain Defoe to cause problems for West Ham United if he is included in Tottenham Hotspur's squad tomorrow.

The Spurs striker is the club's top scorer so far this season, netting 10 times in all competitions this campaign, but has struggled to find a place in the club's Premier League lineup.

Cole, who spent four years as a teammate of Defoe's at Upton Park, told reporters: "Tottenham have brought in some good players but personally, I'll be glad if my old West Ham and England teammate Jermain Defoe's name is not on their team sheet on Sunday.

"He seems to have scored every time he has played this season and we all know what he can do. If you give him a chance he can hurt you, so I think he's probably impressed me the most of Tottenham's players.

"We've got to stop him from scoring this weekend, but Jermain will be eager to impress. He wants to get back into the England squad and he'll be right up for it against his old club. We'll need to be right on it, so I'll be happy if he is not playing against us."

The two sides meet at White Hart Lane tomorrow afternoon.