This Sunday, Tottenham prepare for the second of their three London derbies in a row, as they host West Ham United at White Hart Lane.
But the game will have added resonance as both Spurs and The Hammers find themselves fifth and sixth respectively, with the same number of points and the same goal of Champions League qualification.
This time last year, West Ham found themselves just a point off Manchester United in fourth, but in the second half of the season, Sam Allardyce’s side completely dovetailed and ended up in 12th place. Allardyce left at the end of the season.
This time around under Slaven Bilic, there doesn’t seem to be any danger of a similar collapse.
Spurs may have home advantage, but it counts for nothing against The Hammers.
Tottenham
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are just one game away from equalling their league best of 12 games unbeaten and will take heart from their last performance away at Arsenal.
Spurs were highly unlucky not to leave the Emirates with all three points, as they frustrated The Gunners with their impressive defensive showing and inability to give away chances and possession.
However, Spurs were extremely poor in the air and showed a failure to deal with crosses into the box. With West Ham likely to deploy Andy Carroll up front, both Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld will need to perform better in that department to nullify the big centre-forward.
At the other end, Christian Eriksen is looking sharp with three goals and two assists and will hope to continue his run of good form and Erik Lamela’s work rate has been exceptional of late. With Aaron Cresswell marauding down the left flank, the Argentine needs to pin him back to stop Cresswell supplying Carroll.
Heung-Min Son makes a welcome return from injury and scored two goals for South Korea on international duty. The pacy forward made next to no impression against Arsenal, but with a brace under his belt he’ll be itching to get back to Premier League action as quickly as possible.
Fresh from their England Wembley bows, Eric Dier and Dele Alli are likely to be Pochettino’s pairing for Sunday, with the latter coming off the back of a man of the match performance against France with a superb strike past team-mate Hugo Lloris.
Dier and Dele have been Tottenham’s top stars this season and their defensive responsibilities have been so important to a side that have conceded just 10 goals in the league this season.
Harry Kane goes into the game with five goals in his last three league games and certainly presents a problem to James Tomkins and the reliable Winston Reid.
West Ham
West Ham go to White Hart Lane without signing of the season Dimitri Payet, who is out until February after being roughed up by Everton’s James McCarthy.
With five goals and three assists in the Premier League, the Frenchman’s absence is a big blow to Slaven Bilic who would have wanted his star man on hand in such a big game.
Payet has created more chances than anybody in the league with 47, apart from Mesut Ozil and over 30 more than West Ham’s next player Aaron Cresswell on 16.
However, Bilic will be encouraged by the form of Manuel Lanzini, who scored against Everton and in Payet’s absence, should get the chance to start in his more favoured central position.
The Argentine on loan from Al-Jazira came to England with very little profile but has been another bright spark in a claret shirt with an eye for goal, with five strikes already this season in all competitions.
With Andy Carroll impressive against Chelsea and woeful against Watford, it remains to be seen if Bilic perseveres with the burly striker, given Spurs’ evident aerial struggles against Arsenal.
In midfield, ever-present Mark Noble and the impressive Cheikhou Kouyate will start from deep, trying to stop the fancy footwork of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli’s forward runs having an influence on proceedings.
Unfortunately for Noble, he’s been dribbled past on an average of 2.2 times a game; only Aaron Ramsey has been dribbled past more, so the club captain will have to put in a better shift to keep Eriksen and the rampaging Mousa Dembele quiet.
Tottenham almost outrank West Ham in every defensive respect, with Spurs conceding fewer shots, making the most interceptions and making more tackles per game than their East London rivals, but have also given away the most fouls out of anybody in the league.
With West Ham benefitting from height and Noble and full backs Cresswell and Carl Jenkinson all accomplished crossers of the ball, Spurs need to cut out the fouls to inhibit The Hammers’ progress going forward.
The Tottenham view: Heung-Min Son, forward
“I know this coming match against West Ham is very important for us – I want to score and hopefully we will win.
“I’m confident we can do it because we are very strong. We are at a very good time now, we’re enjoying it, the players are very fit and we want to win every time.
“We feel very, very good and when I see the other players they are all very happy, they smile every time. We are very positive for Sunday and I hope that we can win.”
The West Ham view: Slaven Bilic, manager
“It’s a special game, yes. It’s a cliche that every game is for three points but there are some games that are more special to the fans and they are derby games, and this one is definitely one of them.
“Some are saying this is the game of the season for West Ham. I wouldn’t say that, but it is a special game and you can that feel around the camp this week and we’re looking forward to it, of course.
“We are waiting for it big time.”
Prediction: Tottenham suffered a scare last season against West Ham, going 2-0 down before goals from Danny Rose and a 94th minute Harry Kane equaliser salvaged a point for the home side.
But this time around Spurs look too strong to endure a similar scenario and Payet’s absence will be a huge blow to the visitors.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United
