English Premier
2026-01-17 - Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17th January 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Tottenham Hotspur
The pressure continues to build and build on Thomas Frank as manager of Tottenham Hotspur after another home defeat. This time it was in the FA Cup Third Round as another route towards silverware ends, while the Premier League form has been miserable with Tottenham Hotspur slipping back into the bottom six places in the Division.
This was not how it was supposed to be for Tottenham Hotspur who had made a decent start under Thomas Frank, but who are now 14th in the Premier League table. There is still time to turn things around, but Frank needs results and especially at home where Spurs have a miserable 2-3-5 record in the top flight.
Tottenham Hotspur have won 1 of the last 7 games in all competitions and have suffered consecutive defeats to Bournemouth and Aston Villa. There has been little consistency shown at home this season and Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win any of the last 3 here in all competitions with 2 of those matches ending in defeat.
Richarlison picked up an injury and is expected to miss out, while Dominic Solanke is unlikely to be risked as a starter. Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus are others missing.
West Ham United
It is very difficult to imagine Nuno Espirito Santo getting a lot more time as manager of West Ham United following a poor run of form that leaves them in a desperate position in the League table. Even the FA Cup Third Round win over Queens Park Rangers will not have improved confidence that much considering West Ham United needed Extra Time to overcome an opponent they may face in the second tier from August.
A home loss to Nottingham Forest feels like a dagger as far as 18th placed West Ham United are concerned with 7 points now between them and safety. Games are beginning to run down for West Ham United who travel to North London with a 1-4-5 away record in the top flight this season.
West Ham United needed Extra Time to beat QPR, which means they have won none of the last 11 games in all competitions in normal time, while they have also lost back to back Premier League games against relegation rivals Wolves and Nottingham Forest. The 3-0 loss at Molineux was particularly concerning for the fans and West Ham United have lost their last 2 away Premier League games by the same scoreline.
Konstantinos Mavrapanos is a doubt.
Head to Head
One of the high points in the short Thomas Frank reign as manager of Tottenham Hotspur is overseeing a 0-3 win at the London Stadium earlier this season.
Tottenham Hotspur have won 4 of the last 5 home games against West Ham United, although the exception was a defeat.
Prediction
To say Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are two teams in really poor form may be considered an understatement by those sets of supporters ahead of this Premier League meeting.
It is very difficult to see Tottenham Hotspur down as a strong favourite after yet another home defeat, but Thomas Frank's team are facing a West Ham United team that have looked destined for relegation.
Losing to relegation rivals will always be hurtful, but West Ham United's performance in the 3-0 defeat at Wolves suggested players have given up on Nuno Espirito Santo. They were better in the 1-2 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, but ultimately West Ham United were beaten again and it is very tough to see how they can turn things around.
Signings have been made to help, but The Hammers have just looked short of the qualities needed at both ends of the pitch.
However, it is not easy to make a case for Tottenham Hotspur at odds on as injuries have piled up and key attackers are set to miss out.
At the moment Thomas Frank has to be wondering if his team can get out of their own way with mistakes being punished and it is clear they are lacking some confidence when heading out into their own Stadium.
Supporters are tense, which is seeping onto the field, and Tottenham Hotspur have struggled with the balance that the fans are expecting to see. Some have criticised the team for the lack of attacking flair and this is not going to be an easy game for the hosts, even if they have been a little unfortunate at times.
In saying that, West Ham United are clearly lacking some belief and they are another team making errors at the back.
The reality is that this could be a fixture that comes down to which of the two teams makes the fewer mistakes and neither is particular easy to trust.
Tottenham Hotspur can at least point out that they have enjoyed playing West Ham United in recent games and perhaps that pushes them past a relegation threatened rival. A lack of goals is a problem for the home team, but they may have just enough to edge a relatively low-scoring fixture against an opponent that has just lost their way in the last six weeks.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham United
