West Ham United head to north London to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui is in desperate need of a positive result, as is Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, with both sides having underwhelmed in the Premier League so far this season.
West Ham won last time out against Ipswich. That 4-1 victory at the London Stadium was a huge confidence boost for the players, and it massively eased the pressure on the Hammers head coach.
A new-look front-line could be looking possible today, with Niclas Fullkrug still out, Michail Antonio only having returned to training on Thursday and Lucas Paqueta’s form leaving a lot to be desired
Paul Merson riled up the Spurs fans before the game by suggesting Tottenham are ‘Spursy’, although he did predict a 2-1 win for the home side.
Anything could happen today, that’s the beauty of football. If the Hammers players turn up, there’s no reason why we can’t win the match.
However, TNT Sport have committed a cardinal sin before the game has even kicked off…
TNT Sports make terrible decision for Tottenham vs West Ham
The Tottenham vs West Ham clash with be broadcast by TNT Sports.
Those Hammers fans not going to the game will undoubtedly be glued to their televisions this afternoon.
TNT usually provide pretty good and well balanced coverage of games in my opinion.
Amazingly though, both pundits on TNT’s broadcast will be ex-Spurs players, in the form of Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle.
A nice unbiased studio for those watching the game to enjoy then!
What a joke that is, and it highlights the preferential treatment given to the top six clubs by the broadcasting companies.
In my opinion, it’s an insult to the Hammers fans who pay their TNT subscription. Are you telling me they really couldn’t find a former West Ham player to perform punditry duties for the match?
Joe Cole, Carlton Cole, Kevin Nolan, Rob Green? Anyone! I’d even have taken Rio Ferdinand!
Instead, the West Ham fans watching the game will undoubtedly be subjected to a Tottenham love-in all afternoon from the crew.
It’s not what we signed up for really is it?
Shameful from TNT and everybody involved in the decision if you ask me.
West Ham won last time out, so will be heading into the Premier League clash with Tottenham with extra confidence.
The opposite can be said of Spurs, after they let a two-goal lead slip to lose 3-2 against Brighton two weeks ago.
The West Ham fans will be treated to an all Tottenham punditry cast on TNT – what a joke that is by the way.
Hopefully we turn them over on their own patch. We’ve won at their stadium three times since 2017 after all – not a bad record at all.
However, the worry I have is that Postecoglou has drummed into his players how important this game is, whilst the same can’t be said for Lopetegui.
Ange Postecoglou has just made Julen Lopetegui look silly
There is no overstating just how important this game is for the Hammers and Spurs fans.
They are our fiercest rivals in the Premier League, and the fact that we took four points off them last season gave us real bragging rights.
However, Lopetegui didn’t seem to grasp the rivalry when he spoke to reporters on Thursday.
The Spaniard suggested that the London derby is just another game:
“I know about this derby but we have to put the focus on the football. We have to put our focus only on the play and the ball and that’s no different from all the matches.“
Meanwhile, the Tottenham boss proved that unlike Lopetegui, he understands what this one means.
Postecoglou spoke to reporters at his pre-match press conference yesterday, and responded when asked by Football.London what the clash with West Ham means to him and his players.
The Spurs boss said, “I was made very aware of it last year (how important the game is). I know what it means. An important game.“
Ange Postecoglou has made Julen Lopetegui look silly here if you ask me.
The Spurs boss has made it clear that he gets how much this means to the fans, whilst the unrelatable Lopetegui has done the complete opposite.
The Tottenham vs West Ham clash kicks off at 12:30 this afternoon, and if our players aren’t up for this one, it will be very clear to see where that lack of motivation has stemmed from.
