The Premier League returns from the international break with a potential blockbuster London derby this lunchtime. Spurs host fierce rivals West Ham looking to bounce back from their horror capitulation at Brighton a fortnight ago, when they led 2-0 at half-time before collapsing quickly to lose. Such a result ended an impressive run of five consecutive wins across all competitions for Tottenham, with Ange Postecoglou describing it as the worst defeat of his tenure so far.
Spurs will hope to restore confidence today against a West Ham side that made a very sluggish start to a new era under Julen Lopetegui, before some of the early pressure on David Moyes’ successor was eased before the break with a thumping 4-1 home win over struggling Ipswich in which captain Jarrod Bowen was back to his best.
Lopetegui could take a big step towards building a positive rapport with sceptical Hammers fans with a win over Spurs, who welcome back captain Heung-min Son and Richarlison. However, the visitors are still without the injured Niclas Fullkrug as they chase successive away league wins in N17 for the first time since 1966. Follow Tottenham vs West Ham live below.
Tottenham vs West Ham latest news
Kick-off time: 12.30pm BST | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
How to watch: TNT Sports
Tottenham team news: Son and Richarlison return
West Ham team news: Fullkrug out again
Score prediction
West Ham team news
11:20 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Rodriguez, Soucek, Paqueta, Bowen, Antonio, Kudus
Subs: Fabianski, Cresswell, Coufal, Mavropanos, Soler, Guilherme, Alvarez, Summerville, Ings
Tottenham team news
11:17 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Subs: Forster, Dragusin, Gray, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergball, Moore, Richarlison, Werner
Hojbjerg to seal permanent Marseille move
11:04 , Matt Verri
Marseille sporting director Mehdi Benatia has confirmed the club will sign on-loan Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg permanently.
Spurs loaned the Denmark international to Marseille with an obligation to make the move permanent for a fee of around £17m.
Hojbjerg has impressed so far this season at the French club, helping them climb to third in Ligue 1.
And Benatia has revealed they are keen for him to become a permanent member of Roberto De Zerbi’s squad.
“Pierre has signed a loan agreement with an option to buy, so the move will soon become permanent,” Benatia told Danish sports magazine Tipsbladet.
Lopetegui: Extra passion of derby will help us
10:56 , Matt Verri
West Ham have already had a few London derby matches this season, beating Crystal Palace before earning a point away to Fulham and then losing comfortably against Chelsea.
This, though, is the one Hammers fans really care about, with Julen Lopetegui insisting he is aware of the added pressure.
“I know this is a big derby in London and means a lot to our fans,” Lopetegui said.
“We don’t need any other reason to be ready. We’re going to have over 3,000 fans at the stadium, and we will be ready to work hard and get a good result for them.
“Our fans are always the best for us, and this is a good thing for us.
“The extra passion in these games is always good for the environment, the fans, the players, and also us.”
Spurs must produce response
10:46 , Matt Verri
As Tottenham’s internationals filtered back to Hotspur Way this week, they should not have expected a warm reception from Ange Postecoglou, writes Dan Kilpatrick.
The Spurs head coach can be cool with his players at the best of times but he has spent this international break stewing over his side’s collapse from 2-0 at half-time to lose 3-2 at Brighton last time out.
Postecoglou even said in a broadcast interview this week that he is “ready to explode” on his players as a form of “therapy”, and it felt like he was only half-joking.
Postecoglou had no chance to properly address the bulk of his squad at the Amex before they left for international duty but most of the players will have since seen his loaded post-match comments, when the Australian accused them of a lack of “fight” and failing to do the basics.
It was a direct hit on their mentalities – not nearly as extreme as Antonio Conte’s final rant as Spurs boss after a similar collapse at Southampton, but with the same underlying message – and one of things Postecoglou has likely been “sitting on” this fortnight is whether the game was a one-off or evidence of a more ingrained problem in his young squad.
In the building!
10:37 , Matt Verri
The hosts have arrived in north London…
Standard Sport prediction
10:28 , Matt Verri
It’s always difficult to predict games accurately after the international break, but Spurs can surely be expected to start with real intensity after that Brighton collapse.
West Ham have largely struggled this season, and this could be another frustrating afternoon.
Tottenham to win, 3-1.
West Ham team news
10:21 , Matt Verri
West Ham are set to once again be without striker Niclas Fullkrug.
He suffered an Achilles injury last month while away on international duty with Germany and returned to training before the Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool, but is still not fit enough to return after a setback.
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has revealed that the 31-year-old suffered some “complications” in his return from injury and his comeback date remains unclear.
“He initially thought he had one non-important injury, but he has had complications and we are waiting to recover him,” said the Irons chief of his striker.
“We thought he would be out for a maximum of two weeks, but right now he is out and I don’t say anything about how long he will be out. We will see.”
Predicted West Ham XI: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Rodriguez, Soucek, Paqueta, Kudus, Bowen, Antonio
Tottenham team news
10:11 , Matt Verri
Heung-min Son is set to be available again for Tottenham this afternoon.
The South Korean has missed the last three matches and his country’s internationals after picking up a muscle injury against Qarabag in the Europa League last month but has trained this week.
In a major boost to Tottenham’s forward options, Richarlison is also back with the first team though likely to start on the bench against the Hammers, with Postecoglou having already promised to be cautious with the Brazilian following his latest injury lay-off.
Wilson Odobert remains sidelined, with Ange Postecoglou hopeful that the French forward will be back in training next week, while Lucas Bergvall picked up a knock on Sweden duty but should be fit to make the squad this weekend.
Son is likely to replace Timo Werner in Spurs’ front line but Postecoglou is otherwise expected to name a similar team to the 3-2 defeat at Brighton last time out, despite Spurs’ second-half collapse from 2-0 up on the south coast.
Predicted Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison; Johnson, Son, Solanke
How to watch Tottenham vs West Ham
10:04 , Matt Verri
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate. Coverage starts at 11am BST ahead of a 12.30pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch the game on the Discovery+ app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action right here with us, featuring expert analysis from Dom Smith at the ground.
Good morning!
09:59 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Tottenham vs West Ham!
The Premier League is back after the international break and it’s a London derby to get things going on a busy weekend.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 12:30pm BST from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
