Tottenham vs West Ham LIVE: Son Heung-min is DROPPED to the bench as Richarlison starts alongside Harry Kane… while Flynn Downes comes into David Moyes’ starting XI as the Hammers look to move out of the relegation zone
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for the Premier League clash between Tottenham and West Ham.
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13min: Should Spurs have a penalty? They certainly have a case here. Spurs play the ball low inside the box, but Thilo Kehrer reaches low to effectively block it with his hand. Play on is the call and VAR don’t feel there is enough to overturn it.
I think West Ham have got away with one there…
11min: Dejan Kulusevski delivers a cross that is only partially cleared to the edge of the box by a West Ham header but Oliver Skipp’s volley is deflected wide for a Spurs corner. One that West Ham clear.
8min: Minor improvements for Tottenham. I stress the word minor though. They are at least asking West Ham a few questions at the back now but it’s still the Hammers looking the more dangerous side in attacking situations.
5min: Five minutes into the game and I don’t think Spurs have had a passing passage of play yet. It’s been all West Ham as they apply the early pressure.
1min: And yet on Kane’s big day it’s West Ham who go very close to opening the scoring in the opening minute.
Jarrod Bowen is found unmarked on the edge of the box but his powerfully struck shot flies narrowly wide.
A reminder of the teams:
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Davies, Kulusevski, Richarlison, Kane.
Subs: Sanchez, Son, Perisic, Danjuma, Porro, Tanganga, Lucas Moura, Sarr, Austin.
West Ham: Fabianski, Kehrer, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Emerson Palmieri, Bowen, Downes, Antonio.
Subs: Johnson, Cresswell, Scamacca, Fornals, Lanzini, Areola, Ings, Benrahma, Casey.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Tottenham fans unveil a mosaic with the words ‘HARRY’ for Kane, who overtook Jimmy Greaves as the club’s top scorer recently.
The striker met members of Greaves’ family at the end of the warm up on the pitch as he was presented with yet another personal accolade.
Here is how the Premier League table stands ahead of this London derby…
…an important match at both ends of the table.
Son Heung-min’s popularity in South Korea draws supporters to Spurs so imaging booking this trip only to see him on the bench!
I’m sure he will make his way onto the pitch at some point though.
David Moyes has said that he would be ‘kidding himself’ if he expected West Ham to be competing at the top for six or seven years.
The Scot, 59, made the comments while discussing facing pressure as a Premier League manager on Mike Calvin’s Football People.
Despite an outstanding run to the Europa League semi-final last season, concern is growing behind the scenes over West Ham’s domestic form with the Hammers lying perilously close to the drop zone.
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A 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty to assaulting Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after their north London derby against Tottenham last month.
Joseph Watts of Hackney was charged by police after Ramsdale was kicked by a supporter following Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on January 15.
On Friday Watts appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, where he pleaded guilty to assault by beating.
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The past month has underlined both Tottenham‘s potential and shortcomings in the club’s ongoing battle to end its trophy drought, which stretches back to 2008.
Their 1-0 victory over champions Manchester City illustrated the potential, with the club boasting one of the game’s world class forwards in Harry Kane and a packed 62,850-capacity stadium to match.
A dismal 4-1 defeat to Leicester followed by a meek 1-0 loss to an out-of-form AC Milan side on Tuesday showed the very worst, exposing a lack of quality in defence and depth across the side. Allied to the ongoing uncertainty over Antonio Conte’s future, the club appears to be drifting listlessly towards the end of the season.
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Antonio Conte is missing Tottenham’s derby against West Ham and could be out for longer after a setback in his recovery from an operation to remove his gallbladder.
Spurs boss Conte stayed in Italy and did not fly back to London with the team after Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at AC Milan to meet his surgeon for a scheduled appointment.
He was advised to step away from work and focus on his recovery and will remain in Turin with his family until fully fit to return. His assistant Cristian Stellini will resume control ahead of this afternoon’s game.
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Confirmed Tottenham XI: Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Davies; Kulusevski, Kane, Richarlison.
Substitutes: Austin, Sanchez, Tanganga, Porro, Sarr, Perisic, Lucas, Danjuma, Son.
West Ham United starting XI: Lukasz Fabianski; Thilo Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna, Nayef Aguerd; Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Flynn Downes, Emerson; Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio.
Substitutes: Alphonse Areola, Kaelan Casey, Aaron Cresswell, Ben Johnson, Manuel Lanzini, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals, Danny Ings, Gianluca Scamacca
Hello and welcome to Sportsmail’s live blog for this afternoon’s fixture between Tottenham and West Ham. We will be bringing you all the build-up to the game, as well as, the live minute-by-minute action. So, make sure you stay tuned.
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