West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
Whether Glenn Roeder is a betting man remains to be seen, but his predicting skills could certainly do with some fine-tuning after last Monday night's televised thriller at The Valley.
Ahead of the scintillating 4-4 capital showdown with Charlton, the West Ham boss indicated that 'it could be a tense, tight game'. Well at least he got the first part right, but as the Hammers shape up to embark on their second London derby inside a week (and third in succession), it would be no surprise if Roeder kept his comments to himself beforehand.
Spurs were also involved in a local clash last weekend, but theirs was a familiarly tight affair. Indeed Glenn Hoddle's men had to rely on a last-gasp goalkeeping error to rescue a point from neighbours Arsenal in a match that was dominated by one man's controversial decision to relocate to the southern end of the Seven Sisters Road.
While no single player should be targeted for hostility in this match, the usual banter between two geographical rivals should ensure another lively atmosphere in the East End.
On the pitch West Ham have been erratic this term and are languishing in the lower echelons of the Premiership as a result. Despite winning a third of their fixtures, the Hammers have the joint-worst defensive record in the division and have conceded in excess of two goals per game on average.
Similarly, the Lilywhites have been far from solid at the back, yet Hoddle's side have compensated with their effectiveness in attack. They are one of only six top-flight teams to have netted 20 or more times this season and that is credit to their positive approach play.
In the opposition half Tottenham have found a colleague with 70% of their distribution - better than the Premiership average - and have completed the second-highest tally of passes in the final third. In addition, summer signings Gustavo Poyet and Christian Ziege have proven valuable acquisitions by weighing with a hat-trick of goal assists each.
However, West Ham are no slouches and have only been defeated once on home soil, maintaining three clean sheets in the process. Whether they can contain the attacking threat of the visitors is debatable, but for the more ambitious punters among you, Spurs are rated at 28/1 to achieve a 3-2 victory in a repeat scoreline of last season's FA Cup quarter-final.
Mark Willis Match referee: D. Elleray
Harrow headmaster David Elleray infuriated Glenn Hoddle in August when he dismissed Gary Doherty and Gustavo Poyet in Spurs' trip to Goodison Park. But the nine men managed to hold Everton to a 1-1 draw and Hoddle will be hoping his team finish the game on Saturday with the full complement of players. Meanwhile West Ham's total of 217 fouls committed is the third-highest tally behind Sunderland and Leicester City in the Premiership this season.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsD. Elleray 122 2 11 2 43.25
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MATCH BETTING
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Match Result West Ham7/5Draw2/1Tottenham7/4First Goalscorer F Kanoute11/2P Kitson11/2P Di Canio6/1J Defoe13/2D Hutchison9/1J Cole14/1T Sinclair14/1Carrick16/1S Lomas25/1S Moncur25/1C Dailly33/1S Minto33/1S Schmemel33/1H Foxe40/1R Song40/1T Repka40/1N Winterburn50/1R Soma50/1T Sheringham11/2L Ferdinand13/2S Rebrov7/1S Iversen8/1G Poyet10/1D Anderton14/1C Ziege14/1T Sherwood16/1O Leonhardsen16/1S Davies20/1D Richards25/1G Bunjevcevic33/1L King33/1S Freund33/1C Perry40/1B Thatcher40/1M Taricco40/1Correct ScoreWest Ham 1-06/1West Ham 2-010/1West Ham 2-19/1West Ham 3-022/1West Ham 3-118/1West Ham 3-225/1West Ham 4-066/1West Ham 4-150/1West Ham 4-266/1West Ham 5-0100/1West Ham 5-1100/1Draw 0-07/1Draw 1-111/2Draw 2-214/1Draw 3-366/1Tottenham 1-07/1Tottenham 2-012/1Tottenham 2-110/1Tottenham 3-028/1Tottenham 3-122/1Tottenham 3-228/1Tottenham 4-080/1Tottenham 4-180/1Tottenham 4-280/1Tottenham 5-0100/1Tottenham 5-1100/1Double Result West Ham/West Ham10/3West Ham/Draw14/1West Ham/Tottenham33/1Draw/West Ham4/1Draw/Draw7/2
Draw/Tottenham5/1Tottenham/West Ham28/1Tottenham/Draw14/1Tottenham/Tottenham7/2
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