Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United - prediction, team news, lineups

Two Premier League teams with managers under pressure butt heads in North London on Saturday, as Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur play host to Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.

Spurs are looking to complete the league double over the Hammers for the first time since 2019-20 after winning 3-0 at the London Stadium in September.

Match preview

It is fair to say that there has been little to smile about on the white side of North London since the turn of year, as Tottenham remain winless in 2026 after dropping points in Premier League clashes with Sunderland (1-1) and Bournemouth (3-2) before losing 2-1 to Aston Villa in the FA Cup last weekend.

Wilson Odobert’s second-half strike pulled one back for Spurs after Villa entered hard time with a two-goal lead, but Frank’s men were unable to restore parity and have subsequently crashed out in the third round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2013-14.

Another setback on home soil has piled more pressure on Frank, who is struggling to get the best out of a Spurs side boasting only four wins in their last 24 Premier League games in front of their own fans (D6 L14) - their two home wins this season is their lowest ever after 10 matches in a league campaign.

Languishing in 14th place in the Premier League table and six points behind Frank’s former club Brentford in fifth, Tottenham can at least take some comfort from the fact that they have lost only one of their last eight league encounters with Saturday’s opponents West Ham (D3 L4).

Keeping a clean sheet could be key if Spurs are to prevail this weekend, as six of their seven Premier League victories this season have been without reply. In addition, they have only won one of their last 21 top-flight matches when conceding at least once (D6 L14) - beating Leeds 2-1 in October.

West Ham’s 14-year spell in the Premier League is in serious danger of coming to an end this season, as they sit 18th in the table and seven points adrift of safety following a painful 2-1 home defeat to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest last time out.

The Hammers are now winless in their last 10 top-flight matches (D4 L6) and this miserable run represents their longest streak without a victory since a run of 11 between December 2006 and March 2007 - losing 4-3 against Tottenham in their 11th game back then.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has only won three of his 17 matches as West Ham boss since replacing Graham Potter in September, and the latest of those was a morale-boosting 2-1 extra-time success at home to Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Still, Hammers supporters are right to feel concerned by first-team performances, especially in defence as West Ham have not kept a single clean sheet in their last 19 matches in all competitions. In the Premier League, they have conceded a league-high 11 headed goals this season, with only Arsenal (nine) scoring more headers than Saturday’s opponents Spurs (nine).

West Ham have also shipped more goals from corners than any other PL team this term (12), with no side scoring more than Tottenham (11). On a positive note, Hammers boss Nuno has won three of his previous five away league games against Spurs, including a 2-1 victory with former club Nottingham Forest in April last season.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

West Ham United Premier League form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Team News

Spurs boss Frank has confirmed that Richarlison set to be out for seven weeks with a hamstring problem, with the forward joining Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (ACL) and Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring) in the treatment room.

Pape Sarr is still away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with finalists Senegal, but Spurs have bolstered their squad with the £34.7m January signing of Conor Gallagher and he is available to make his debut.

Lucas Bergvall “could be available” to return from a knock, but a start against West Ham is seemingly unlikely, so Gallagher could be thrown into midfield to link up with Joao Palhinha and Archie Gray.

Cristian Romero was suspended for Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa, but he is available to return on Saturday to play alongside centre-back Micky van de Ven, while it remains to be seen whether striker Dominic Solanke will be fit to start his first game since recovering from a six-month injury layoff.

As for West Ham, El Hadji Malick Diouf is still away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with finalists Senegal, while Konstantinos Mavropanos is set to remain sidelined with a neck injury, joining Lukasz Fabianski (back) in the treatment room.

Mateus Fernandes will have an unspecified issue assessed ahead of kickoff, while Lucas Paqueta (back) is also a doubt at a time when he reportedly wants to leave the club amid interest from Flamengo in his native Brazil.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has finished representing DR Congo at AFCON and has trained with the Hammers this week, so a start at right-back is likely against Spurs. Max Kilman, meanwhile, is expected to replace the injured Mavropanos and start alongside Jean-Clair Todibo at centre-back.

January signing Pablo Felipe could be handed his first PL start in behind fellow new recruit Valentin Castellanos, who scored his first goal for the club in the FA Cup win over QPR last time out.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Gray, Palhinha; Simons, Gallagher, Tel; Kolo Muani

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles; Magassa, Soucek; Bowen, Pablo, Summerville; Castellanos

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham United

Saturday’s fixture is an important one for both teams who are desperate to claim all three points for different reasons. While Spurs’ home record leaves much to be desired, they will be regarded as favourites for this one.

West Ham are boosted by the return of Wan-Bissaka and a couple of new attack-minded signings, but their defensive frailties are a concern and we can see the hosts outscoring their opponents on this occasion.

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