Play West Ham With Passion And Heart, Mauricio Pochettino Tells Spurs

The Lilywhites played out a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the north London derby in their last top-flight game before the global break after Harry Kane cancelled out Kevin Wimmer’s own goal.

Tottenham dominated possession but their lack of incisiveness became a growing source of frustration before half-time and it was no surprise when Janssen booted Kouyate across Pochettino’s technical area with a belligerent, albeit fair, challenge, that sent water bottles flying and Bilic into a fit of rage. Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele have been passed fit after they picked up minor injuries while on worldwide duty, while Harry Kane was omitted from England’s second game against Spain during the global break to allow him time to continue his recovery from an ankle injury, which will make sure he is fresh and ready for the clash.

Mauricio Pochettino has instructed Tottenham to pay special attention to Dimitri Payet on Saturday but says there is no plan to man-mark the West Ham playmaker.

“We have enough quality”. Why are they expecting of me much more? The Hammers drew 1-1 with Stoke City last time out, meaning they sit just one point clear of the relegation zone after a disappointing start to the campaign.

Predicted Lineup (4-1-4-1): Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama; Sissoko, Dembele, Eriksen, Son; Kane.

Very few players can replicate Kane’s production, and the chances of another high-costing failure are too large to risk.

Key Stat: Stalemate – Tottenham have drawn their last four Premier League games.

This is Spurs’ longest winless run in all competitions (D5 L2) since May 2004, in which they went eight without a victory. In truth, Arsenal should have turned their dominance into another goal to put the game to bed before half-time, though they failed to do so. I’ve managed to captain Spurs a couple of times. On the defensive side of the ball, they conceded only 1.34 goals which explains why they were a tough opponent to face, finishing seventh in the league table.

Slaven Bilic has lost five of his last six away games as West Ham boss with the only win coming against Crystal Palace.

Kane’s desired wages are still far less than the £185,000 Diego Costa earns at Chelsea, an indication of the wages expected by top Premier League strikers.

The Belgian is a vital cog in an extremely fluid Spurs machine.

Harry Kane, who has 15 goals in his last 15 London PL derbies, has scored three times in two previous home PL outings against West Ham.

The fact that they’re the only unbeaten team in the league right now would surely be another motivation for the hosts. However, once fatigue sets in and the players start to tire, Tottenham might just have the cutting edge in them to get the job done.