With no Andre Villas-Boas in the dugout at White Hart Lane, Spurs fans will be hoping that they can get revenge on their London rivals after they suffered a 3-0 hammering last time they played host to West Ham back in October.
Tim Sherwood will be hoping that he can lead this flamboyant Spurs side to a Capital One Cup semi-final, after a less than satisfactory start to the league campaign. The sacking of AVB could see Erik Lamela return to the side for only his fifteenth appearance of the season. Spurs fans will be optimistic about the quality that the £30million Argentinian midfielder will have to show, if he’s given the chance he deserves.
West Ham have lost four of their last six fixtures, having only managed to score five goals in those matches. Sam Allardyce’s attacking options this season have been less than threatening, to say the least, with Ravel Morrison leading the way with just five goals to his name.
England striker Andy Carroll is still out of action with an ankle injury, and Sam Allardyce’s problems haven’t been made any easier, after Ricardo Vaz Te dislocated his shoulder against Swansea – leaving the East London club short of options upfront.
Tottenham have problems of their own however, with centre backs Vlad Chiriches, Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen all out of action. Tim Sherwood’s problems at the back may be made slightly easier, with the potential return of Vlad Chiriches after he was rested over the weekends fixture against Liverpool.
Spurs face a crucial way trip to the South Coast on Sunday at Southampton, where the fans will be hoping that they can get their league campaign back on track following Southampton’s dip in recent form. This could see Tim Sherwood resting a couple of first team players, however Spurs still have enough depth in their squad to field a strong line-up.
The Hammers and Sam Allardyce similarly have a tough weekend fixture in the league, travelling to Old Trafford and only a point above the relegation places. The Hammers fans will be devastated if they see their side drop into the relegation spots following a defeat at United, however progressing to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup should satisfy the fans. Sam Allardyce will have a tough decision to make regarding his team selection for this fixture.
