West Ham vs Tottenham Preview & Prediction (16/Aug ~ 22:00)

Probable Lineups

Team News

West Ham

• Sam Allardyce is expected to be without Andy Carroll, Carl Jenkinson, Guy Demel and Enner Valencia for the season opener against Tottenham.
• Ravel Morrison and summer signing Aaron Cresswell are both doubts, though the latter is expected to be fit to make his debut against Spurs.
• Elsewhere, Allardyce may hand first starts to Diego Poyet and Mauro Zárate, though Cheikhou Kouyaté may have to settle for a place on the bench.

  Tottenham

• Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be without injured quartet Mousa Dembélé, Vlad Chiriches, Michael Dawson and Kyle Walker for his first game as Spurs manager. Jan Vertonghen didn't feature in pre-season following the World Cup so should miss out.
• Summer arrivals Eric Dier and Ben Davies are likely to make their league debuts at Upton Park, while Michel Vorm should take his place on the bench.
• Roberto Soldado may get the nod over Emmanuel Adebayor in attack. Erik Lamela is also in line to make his first league start since December.

Prediction

• West Ham secured three wins from three against Spurs last season and will be out to get their campaign off to a great start against their London rivals. There is pressure on Allardyce to perform above expectations this term, so will motivate his players to put on a show in front of their own fans.
• Spurs have enjoyed a good pre-season, but Pochettino will face a baptism of fire when he takes his players across London to Upton Park. The Hammers will be out to spoil the party for their London rivals and hinder their top-4 dreams early on.
• Both teams have strengthened over the summer, but West Ham without main striker Andy Carroll could see Spurs nick this one.