Match Preview: West Ham v Tottenham

It’s finlly here! The opening weekend of the new season. Spurs at home. Oh how we’ve missed you!

It’s been a bit of a turbulent pre-season (well, what did you expect!?) and, without the addition of a few new faces, we’re expected a similar approach from Sam Allardyce as most of last season.

Andy Carroll latest tragic injury stinks of bad luck and raises questions of the club’s inability to wrap him up in bloody cotton wool all summer. But the reality is that they didn’t and he’s out for four months. Yay.

But it’s not as if we haven’t been here before. And it’s not as if we’re not capable of beating Tottenham, either. We managed without the big man for most of last season and we beat Tottenham three times.

That’s why it’s going to happen again, right? Surely it has to happen again?

Spurs haven’t really strengthened this summer, which isn’t a surprise following their disastrous shopping spree last summer, so there’s every reason to believe we can get things off to a winning start at the Boleyn Ground tomorrow.

And if we don’t? Well, all good things have to come to end.

It’ll be a tough game, no doubt, but one I think the likes of Adrian, Winston Reid, Mark Noble and Carlton Cole will all be up for. That should rub off on all the other players, as well as the fans, and should egg us on to a fourth consecutive victory over the Spuds.

Verdict: It’s happened again.

Team News

West Ham United

New boy Enner Valencia is still unfit and won’t feature, while fellow new arrival Diafra Sakho didn’t sign in time yesterday to play.

Aaron Cresswell, Mauro Zarate, Cheikhou Kouyate and Diego Poyet could all make their West Ham debuts.

Carl Jenkinson and Ravel Morrison are expected to sit out through injury.

Tottenham Hotspur

Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Nacer Chadli and Paulinho will go through late fitness tests, while Michael Dawson Kyle Walker and Vlad Chiriches are also doubtful.

Last 10 Meetings

Fan Predictions

@WestHamWorld 1-1

— Alex Jessep (@AJess) August 15, 2014

@WestHamWorld 3-1 #COYI

— Jamie Dempsey (@JDPlatinumINVST) August 15, 2014

@WestHamWorld Head says 2-1 Spurs, heart says 1-0 West Ham

— Steve Sturdy (@SteveSturdyy) August 15, 2014

@WestHamWorld 2-1 to the Irons. Downing and Zarate on his debut. Lamela for Spurs

— Charlie (@Prenticee_x) August 15, 2014

@WestHamWorld 1-0 Hammers. Noble Pen #COYI

— Jack95Gamer (@Jack95Gamer) August 15, 2014

The Match in Numbers

3 – West Ham won all three meetings between the two sides last season

1 – The last time these sides met on the opening day of the season was in 1999/2000. The Hammers won 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground thanks to a Frank Lampard goal

400 – This will be Sam Allardyce’s 400th as a Premier League manager

37 – West Ham hit the target with just 37% of their attempts on goal last season, a divisional low.

14 – The Hammers kept 14 clean sheets in the Premier League last season – only five teams bettered that tally

4 – Spurs have won just four of their last 16 opening day fixtures

10 – Tottenham won 10 top-flight away games last term, bettered only by Arsenal (11)

9 – Spurs scored just nine goals in their 10 London derbies last season

Head-to-Head (all competitions)