Spurs vs West Ham Prediction: Bowen to make his mark in another away day

Tottenham Hotspur snapped out of a three-game losing run to dramatically draw 3-3 at Manchester City on Sunday, and Ange Postecoglou's side will be looking for a first win since October 27 when they host West Ham in a London derby on Thursday evening (20:15).

Spurs' time at the top of the Premier League looks to be all over as injuries and suspensions have hit the team hard in recent weeks, and they are now nine points behind North London rivals Arsenal, though a strong showing in Manchester looks to have restored belief in the side.

The Irons, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last three league games and can move to within three points of their opponents with a victory on Thursday.

Team News

Spurs were forced to field two full-backs in central defence against City but vice-captain Christian Romero will return from suspension for this one, which means either Ben Davies or Emerson Royal will drop to the bench.

Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Eric Dier and Ryan Sessengon remain out, but Pape Matar Sarr has a chance of being named in the squad.

The visitors are still without Michail Antonio but captain Kurt Zouma could return after missing Sunday's game through personal reasons.

Match Odds

Spurs are 8/11 to beat West Ham at home in the Premier League for a third season in a row, with the visitors priced at 16/5 to record a first victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since April 2019. The draw is available at 3/1.

Both teams to score is 1/2 and BTTS - No is 6/4.

Jarrod Bowen to score anytime @ 9/4

The England international missed West Ham's first two games after the international break but returned to start at the point of their attack against Palace. With Antonio still out injured and David Moyes clearly not fancying Danny Ings, it's down to the 26-year-old to lead the Irons attack again on Thursday.

Bowen didn't manage to find the net on Sunday but he had done so in four of his previous seven games, and in his last two in the Premier League. The ex-Hull City winger is level with Hwang Hee-Chan and Ollie Watkins on eight for the season and behind only Erling Haaland (14), Mohamed Salah (10) and Son Heung-Min (nine).

Remarkably, six of his goals have come away from home.

Considering Bowen's pace and ability to time his runs behind defenders, this next game should provide an opportunity for the forward to score again in a London derby. Spurs play a notoriously high line which has, generally, served them well this season, but the continued absence of van de Ven weakens the tactic as his recovery pace has been so vital.

I'm not sure whether Davies or Emerson Royal have the speed or defensive awareness to keep track of Bowen's runs, so 9/4 looks a good price for one of the Premier League's top scorers to find the back of the net against a team without a clean sheet in their last five.

Draw or West Ham @ 21/20

Spurs will be desperate to return to winning ways after four games without one, and the return of Romero definitely strengthens their chances.

However, I just get the feeling that Moyes and his side will grind a result out here. Spurs' squad is still pretty threadbare with several youngster filling out the bench at the weekend, and the situation is unlikely to have improved much by Thursday.

West Ham look like they are beginning to click into gear after winning four of their last five, and five of their last seven, a run that has seen them knock Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup.

Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse is a strong and determined three-man unit in midfield which allows the attacking trident of Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus to weave their magic in the final third.

The return of Zouma to the starting XI should add some extra solidity after Konstantinos Mavropanos was culpable for Palace's equaliser on Sunday, and the Irons might just frustrate the home side in North London.

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