West Ham v Tottenham – Betting Preview

Jaymes Monte’s betting preview highlights his best bets for the London derby between West Ham and Tottenham on Saturday…

Form
West Ham have lost their last four games and seven of their last nine as they prepare to host Tottenham this Saturday lunchtime. Despite guiding the Hammers to safety this season Sam Allardyce is under increasing pressure at Upton Park for the way that his team play football and in the final home game of the season he may have to endure more discontent from the terraces.

The Hammers have now played 230 minutes of football without scoring a goal, while striker Andy Carroll has not scored a Premier League goal at the Boleyn Ground in over 12 months.

Spurs, meanwhile, have won four of their last six games and could, with wins against West Ham and Aston Villa in their final two matches, end the season on 72 points. The same total that saw them narrowly miss out on Champions League football last season.

Tim Sherwood’s players have responded impressively since rumours began circulating that the manager would be replaced in the summer. Not losing a game since.

The Lilywhites have now scored three goals or more on four of their last six games, with Harry Kane scoring three in four since making his Premier League debut against Sunderland a few weeks back.

Team News
Midfielder Matty Taylor missed last week’s game with West Brom due to a family illness, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be back for this week’s game. James Tomkins was substituted in the first half of the West Brom loss after picking up a knock and is therefore doubtful for this one.

Spurs will give late fitness tests to Moussa Dembele and Etienne Capoue, while Erik Lamela, Andros Townsend and Kyle Walker are all definitely out.

Head-to-Head
West Ham won both previous encounters with Spurs this season, winning 3-0 at White Hart Lane in the Premier League and 2-1 in the Capital One Cup quarter-final in north London. However, Spurs have won nine and lost only two of the previous 13 Premier League meetings between the two clubs. Andy Carroll has scored in both of his previous games against Tottenham.

Recommended Bets
At odds of 20/23 for all three points Spurs look a decent bet here. Although neither side has too much to play for, the Hammers have looked like a side thinking about their summer holidays in recent weeks, with Tottenham putting in every effort for their departing manager.

West Ham’s troubles in front of goal lately mean that I think we can also look to the 9/4 about Spurs winning without conceding a goal, while odds of 11/10 about there being fewer than 2.5 goals in the game also stands out.