Premier League football is back at White Hart Lane and it will see the Spurs take on another fierce London rival West Ham United in Matchweek 12.
Tottenham Hotspur have had a good solid start, if anything, to their campaign. They are the only side yet to be beaten in the league and in 11 games they have accrued 21 points with 5 wins and 6 draws sitting fifth in the table, three points off fourth placed Arsenal. Whichever way you look at it, this is a good platform to build on in the crucial months of November and December. But there is a growing sense of anxiety at the club, with the increasing amount of draws, especially in recent games so much so that they have not won any on their last six games in all competitions, including a couple of defeats. They really are in need of a win on Saturday and  will go into this game in fairly high spirits boosted by a well-deserved point at the Emirates and the return of their talisman Harry Kane.
West Ham United, on the other hand, are still way off the level they are capable of, in the season so far. Their move to the Olympic Stadium has obviously played a huge role in unsettling what looked like anything but unsettled in the campaign before. With only 3 wins in 11 games they sit 17th in the league but Bilic’s Hammers did find a bit of form for a short period in the second half of October when they won three games in a row including the win against Chelsea at home. But they have reverted to type in the last to games – a dismal defeat to Everton followed by a disappointing draw at home to Stoke which makes this game vitally important for them ahead of two back to back games against Manchester United.
Team NewsÂ
Toby Alderweireld (knee), Erik Lamela (hip) and Ben Davies(ankle) have been ruled out for Tottenham Hotspur and Dele Alli (knee) is deemed doubtful but the midfielder is back in training and will be assessed on Friday. Pochettino will be encouraged by the return of Danny Rose, Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele and Vincent Janssen who have recovered from knocks and are available for the derby on Saturday.
Winston Reid and James Collins are both back in training for West Ham United, who could have Diafra Sakho back in contention. Mark Noble is suspended and Gokhan Tore, Sam Byram (both thigh), Arthur Masuaku and Andy Carroll (both knee) are still injured.
Interesting NumbersÂ
Harry Kane, who has 15 goals in his last 15 London PLÂ derbies, has scored three times in two previous home PL outings against West Ham.
West Ham United have won only once in their last 14 league visits to Spurs (L8 D5).
Key MenÂ
Danny Rose – Tottenham HotspurÂ
Danny Rose has become one of the mainstays at Spurs now under Pochettino. The 26-year old has been associated with the club for 9 years now but in the last two years he’s looked like he has finally made that left back spot his own as a result of which he is now featuring regularly for the national team. Rose is one of the left backs in the country with his ability to sprint up and down, very good on the ball as well as off it which makes him a perfect player for the intense system Spurs play under the Argentine. Defending has been one of the strengths of Spurs under Pochettino, they have conceded just 6 goals so far in 2016/17 at least 3 less than a another Premier League club which will prove vital in their upcoming game against West Ham United.
Michail Antonio – West Ham UnitedÂ
With 5 goals from 11 games, Antonio is the highest scorer for the Hammers and one of the top five scorers in the league.  He’s played in a variety of different roles for West Ham but he is at is very best when he is given the license to get forward with the ball in the right wing where he can influence the game in the best possible manner. His prowess in the air will come handy against a Spurs side that are missing their best defender in Toby Alderweireld which will be something that Slaven Bilic could be looking to take advantage of come Saturday.
PredictionÂ
With Harry Kane back in the side, expect Spurs to shade a victory in what should be a very evenly contested fixture.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham UnitedÂ
