City derby in the battle for the League Cup semi-finals

The collective intention is to continue with the current fixture list wherever it is safe to do so – that’s the official statement from the English Premier League after Monday’s crisis meeting. There is no threat of an enforced break in the motherland of football, but individual match cancellations are still possible. Before Christmas, the four quarter-final matches in the English League Cup are still on the agenda. These include the capital city clash between Tottenham and West Ham.

The League Cup is not generally held in high regard in England and is often seen as a chore. But the cup competition is now at a stage where big experiments are no longer being made. An international ticket beckons with a cup triumph and whoever is in the quarter-finals already has the final in sight. Although Spurs are behind the Hammers in the current Premier League table, the bookmakers are offering the lowest odds on a home win in the quarter-final between Tottenham and West Ham.

One reason for this is surely the recent upturn in form at home to White Hart Lane since Italian Antonio Conte took the reins. Wednesday night’s match kicks off at 8:45pm.

Tottenham – Statistics & current form

It’s been just under seven weeks since Antonio Conte took over as Tottenham Hotspurs coach. A time that can be summarised as extremely eventful. At the same time, Spurs have only had to, or rather have only been able to, play seven competitive games in this phase. With four wins, two draws and only one defeat, the results are quite respectable and the clear upward trend is recognisable.

Six home games – no defeat

Interestingly, Tottenham have played five of those seven games at their own White Hart Lane. In each of the first four games, Tottenham left the pitch as winners, boasting a 10-3 goal difference. Their home whitewash was slightly tarnished last Sunday when they drew 2-2 with title contenders Liverpool. Finally, Harry Kane was allowed to cheer again. The 28-year-old top striker scored his second goal of the season in the Premier League.

However, the draw against the Reds can definitely be called a positive result, because the starting situation was anything but ideal. Newcomers Cristian Romero and Bryan Gil have been out injured for some time and the fitness of some players has been questionable due to positive tests. All in all, Tottenham managed a much better performance than was to be expected.

Out in the Conference League at the green table

However, is the body already capable of delivering another top performance with only little recovery time? Doubts are certainly justified and that’s why Tottenham’s prediction of a home win against West Ham on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup seems too risky.

In a worst-case scenario, Spurs face their second elimination in a competition within a few hours. On Monday it was announced that Spurs’ postponed match against Stade Rennes would not be made up and that this would mean elimination from the Conference League. The only positive from this is that it will reduce the stress in the spring of 2022. In the championship, Conte’s eleven already has three catch-up games to play.

Predicted line-up of Tottenham:
Gollini – Tanganga, Rodon, Davies – Sessegnon, Skipp, Lo Celso, Alli, Bergwijn – Moura, Kane

Last matches played by Tottenham:

Premier League
12/19 2021 – Tottenham 2 – 2 Liverpool FC

European Conference League Grp. G
12/09 2021 – Tottenham 0 – 3 Rennes

Premier League
12/05 2021 – Tottenham 3 – 0 Norwich

12/02 2021 – Tottenham 2 – 0 Brentford

European Conference League Grp. G
11/25 2021 – Mura 2 – 1 Tottenham

West Ham – Statistics & current form

The last few weeks have only gone so far for head coach David Moyes’ team. After a very strong start to the season, the team recently fell into a hole and had to cope with some setbacks. Nevertheless, the Champions League starting place is still within reach. With one game to go – against bottom side Norwich City – the gap to city rivals Arsenal is four points.

One win from last six games

Speaking of Arsenal – the derby against the Gunners on 15 December was also the last game for West Ham. West Ham were beaten 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Soberly considered, the team has won only one of the last six Premier League games (three defeats, two draws). In view of these figures, the odds of over 3.00 for the visitors are quite justified between Tottenham and West Ham.

However, the performances shown were very appealing for long stretches. Therefore, one cannot (yet) speak of a crisis. In addition, West Ham had a weekend off due to the cancellation of Norwich and could prepare for this cup match in the best possible way. The focus was probably placed more on the offensive game. Most recently, West Ham went two games without a goal, and before that, the Hammers needed 18 games to remain goalless twice.

West Ham will have to do without Czech Vladimir Coufal. He was shown a yellow card against the Gunners and will now serve his suspension in the League Cup. Considering that the league is more of a priority for West Ham despite the quarter-finals, this is even a small advantage. Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna will not be available due to injury.

Projected West Ham line-up:
Areola – Masuaku, Alese, Dawson, Ashby – Kral, Soucek – Benrahma, Lanzini, Yarmolenko – Antonio

Last matches played by West Ham:

Premier League
12/15 2021 – Arsenal London 2 – 0 West Ham

12/12 2021 – Burnley 0 – 0 West Ham

Europa League Grp. H
12/09 2021 – West Ham 0 – 1 Dinamo Zagreb

Premier League
12/04 2021 – West Ham 3 – 2 Chelsea London

12/01 2021 – West Ham 1 – 1 Brighton

Tottenham – West Ham Direct Comparison / H2H Record

The first English Premier League clash of the season took place at the end of October, with West Ham claiming a narrow 1-0 home win in the London City derby thanks to a goal from striker Michail Antonio. Possibly a good omen for Antonio, the Spurs goal in October was his last in the Premier League. For the Hammers, it was their second league win in a row against Tottenham Hotspurs.

The English League Cup has also seen two duels in the recent past. In 2017/18 and 2018/19, the teams faced each other in the round of 16 and both times, the visitors were able to lock down a place in the next round.

Tottenham – West Ham Tip

The hosts with rising form, the visitors in a results crisis, nevertheless, betting on Tottenham against West Ham is discouraged on the three-way market, because there are some question marks that make it difficult to predict. Especially which players Spurs (can) send into the race. Since West Ham have performed well recently despite weaker results, a bet on the draw-no-bet market might be a good idea.

Betting on a high-scoring cup match, however, seems even more interesting. The break in play for both teams in the last few days also possibly ensures a little that the automatisms are no longer sharpened to the same extent. In addition, Tottenham have a lot of quality on the offensive with Kane, Son and Moura and Antonio, Benrahma and Lanzini. Three goals are to be expected here, six units are recommended for this prediction between Tottenham and West Ham