West Ham vs Tottenham Prediction: Ange’s aces can avenge Hammers loss

West Ham need to pick themselves up from St James’ Park heartache as they prepare for a crunch London derby against bitter rivals Tottenham (20:15).

The Hammers are back home after blowing a 3-1 lead at Newcastle to take on a Spurs side who left it late to beat Luton 2-1 on Saturday and keep their top-four dream alive.

Team News

Lukasz Fabianski, a half-time replacement for Alphonse Areola at Newcastle, will hang on to the gloves as the Frenchman has a groin strain scanned.

The Hammers are still without Edson Alavrez (suspended) which leaves David Moyes with little room to manoeuvre going into a second game in three days.

Doubts over Spurs playing James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski starting in the same side resurfaced on Saturday with both hooked against Luton. One or both could be benched with Richarlison and possibly Brennan Johnson coming in.

Mickey van de Ven, fit enough for the bench at the weekend, could be swapped in for Radu Dragusin.

Match Odds

West Ham, who won 2-1 at Tottenham in December, are 21/10 - or a 32.3% chance - to complete the double over Spurs, who get an 11/10 quote. The draw, and the last meeting between these clubs at the London Stadium ended 1-1, is a 3/1 shot.

West Ham were winning at half-time on Saturday and lost, Tottenham were losing at the break and won. With that in mind, the West Ham/Tottenham Half-Time/Full-Time result is 18/1, the Tottenham/West Ham alternative a 22/1 shot.

Tottenham to win @ 11/10

Edson Alvarez’s absence alone wasn’t the reason West Ham timidly folded against an injury-ravaged Newcastle on Saturday, but West Ham are majorly weaker minus the Mexican.

James Ward-Prowse’s season has been on the drift while the luckless Kalvin Phillips can’t do right for doing wrong whenever he enters the fray.

Throw in the absence of Areola and the Hammers are missing two two big cogs and they look short-handed.

Fabianski wasn’t particularly at fault for the three he let in - and indeed he made some crucial saves - but stripping the first-choice keeper out of an assured defence proved unsettling.

Ange Postecoglou has all his attacking tools at his disposal and while he arguably permed them wrong against Luton, they piled up the chances and survived to win the game.

At West Ham it will be Tottenham doing much of the attacking while being mindful of the threat carried by the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Michail Antonio on the counter.

They were taught that lesson in the 2-1 loss at the Hammers’ hands on their own patch before Christmas and can get it right the second time.

Booking Points Over 52.5 @ 11/8

John Brooks, the man who sent Spurs’ Yves Bissouma off for diving at Luton this season, is set to be a busy man at the London Stadium.

This wasn’t a particularly bad-tempered affair when they met at Tottenham in December yet still managed to yield six yellows. And referee Brooks does like to flash a card.

Brooks is averaging 50.6 card points in club football this season including that red for Bissouma, so trust him in what could easily turn fractious, to go through the 50-point barrier.

Betfred are running their famed Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven offer on this match, meaning that if a player scores first and then nets again, you will be paid at double the odds. If he grabs a hat-trick, you will be paid at treble the odds!

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.