Tottenham Hotspur will proceed their fight for a Champions League place on Tuesday as they travel to West Ham and search for two wins in a row.
There may only be one team between them separating the two teams, but fifth-placed Spurs are 12 points ahead of West Ham and are the only considered one of the two teams with a sensible hope of ending in the top 4. Tottenham is three points behind Aston Villa and has a probability to not only equalize the points but additionally overtake Villa’s +2 goals advantage going into Wednesday’s game, putting pressure on Villa ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Manchester City. However, as West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Spurs in November showed, Spurs could have to be at their best to keep up their status as favorites on this match.
Here’s what you have to know before tuning in.
How to observe and odds
- Date: Tuesday, April 2 | Time: 15:15 EST
- Location: London Stadium – London, England
- Live stream: Peacock
- Chances: West Ham +210; Draw +310; Tottenham Hotspur +105
Plot
Tottenham proceed to maintain pace in the race for England’s only unclaimed Champions League place, but recent results have been inconsistent. Ange Postecoglou’s side have had three wins of their last five outings, which have been a mixed bag – they were clinical in a 4-0 win over Aston Villa last month, but left rather a lot to be desired at times in a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace and Saturday’s 2-0 win. 1 from Luton Town. The other two leads to this stretch – a 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 3-0 defeat to Fulham – were games during which they were ultimately defeated.
Good and bad results and performances show that Spurs are imperfect, which is a risk at a vital a part of the season, but the basic tenets of their approach still make sense. The result against Fulham was the only time they didn’t rating a single goal all season. They have attempted at the least 14 shots per game in 4 of their last five and have scored at the least 1.55 expected goals over that period. There is just one problem – they weren’t as effective in the top game as they would love, especially at the starting of the match. Spurs haven’t scored in the first half of their last six games, despite scoring 13 goals.
This implies that they got themselves into tougher situations than vital. Spurs had to return back from losses and win 3 times in three separate games in six games, including 2-1 wins over Brighton and Hove Albion in February. Each time they conceded a goal in lower than ideal circumstances – Brighton’s goal got here from the penalty spot, while Palace and Luton scored from shots, with expected goals of 0.12 and 0.08 respectively.
Cleaning up these facets of the game can be crucial for Spurs to construct on their good form in the final stretch of the season, and the excellent news for Postecoglou is that he has the staff to do it. Son Heung-min, who is scheduled to make his four-hundredth appearance for the club on Tuesday, has scored 15 goals this season, including three in the last 4 games and two assists. Meanwhile, Brennan Johnson is playing an increasingly essential role in the team – on Saturday he assisted Son’s winner, and in the team’s last 4 games he has recorded two assists and a goal.
Forecast
It won’t be easy against a West Ham team in similar form, but Spurs’ overall quality should come into play as the race for the top 4 heats up. However, once more, their attacking effectiveness might not be revealed until later. To select: West Ham 0, Tottenham Hotspur 2
Credit : www.cbssports.com
