A London duel closes this Wednesday, October 25, the second round of the 2017/2018 version of the League Cup of England. They will play at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham and West Ham at 17h CET.
At this stage of the competition, the regulation establishes the definition of the survivor in the fight for the bowl in single game. If there is a tie, it will be necessary to carry out a 30-minute extension and if equality persists, the decision will be made through a penalty decision.
Tottenham’s recent performance
Although their headquarters are separated by only a few kilometers, the distance between the teams on the Premier League leaderboard is immense. On Sunday, October 22, Tottenham, also at Wembley Stadium, thrashed Liverpool. He won by 4 to 1.
With the fourth consecutive victory in the tournament, it remained in the third position. He accumulated 20 points (six wins, two draws and one loss). Same number of Manchester United, that finishes appearing in the second place for taking the best in the criteria of tie-breaker. Manchester City, the leader, has five more points.
The good phase of Tottenham is also confirmed in the Champions League, where he follows undefeated leader of group H alongside Real Madrid. The teams accumulated seven points (two wins and one draw).
In this scenario, the League Cup does not receive much importance, but even so, Tottenham managed to overcome its first obstacle. In the third round, he went through Barnsley to score 1-0 in London. In that match, the technician Mauricio Pochettino scaled a team almost entirely of reserves. It fell to Delle Ali (eight games in the English Championship 2017/2018, two goals), one of the few starters used, make the winning goal.
The coach is unlikely to climb all his best players on Thursday. After all, he has much bigger ambitions than winning the League Cup title. However, having a local rival in front of you should make a larger number of athletes who are considered starters to be related and used to the duel.
The current form of West Ham
Only rivalry can motivate this strategy. West Ham’s performance within the four legs is not enough to scare Tottenham. On Friday, October 20, opening the ninth round of the English Premier League, the team was thrashed at home by Brighton, 3-0.
Parked in the eight points (two wins, two draws and five losses), completed the day in the sixteenth position. He has, however, the same Everton score, eighteenth place and first in the relegation zone. It only takes the best in the tiebreaker criteria.
In the League Cup, West Ham has achieved better results. He made his debut in the second round by beating Cheltenham away from home 2-0. In the third round, the victim was Bolton, who in London was 3-0.
Slaven Bilic, who has his dismissal being considered, has limitations to climb his team. Striker Andrew Carrol (five games in the 2017/2018 season without a goal) is suspended. In addition, defender Collins James (three games, no goal) and striker Diafra Sakho (seven games, one goal) remain in the medical department. They must still go through a new evaluation to see if they can be available.
History of matches History of Tottenham vs West Ham
The duel between the London teams has already been held once in the current season. On 23 September, for the first round of the Premier League, at the rival’s home, Tottenham won 3-2.
PREDICTION: Tottenham win @ 1.44