Bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United clash at White Hart Lane as the Premier League resumes on Saturday.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
The Hammers are sat 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above the bottom three after a torrid start to Slaven Bilic’s second season in charge.
The East Londoners have won just four of their opening 11 games and were unceremoniously dumped out of the Europa League qualifying by Romanian minnows Astra for the second season running.
Things don’t look like getting better any time soon going by the form book with a hellish fixture list on the horizon for the next month.
Bilic and Spurs boss Pochettino will lock horns again
Bilic’s out of form Hammers go to bitter rivals Spurs next to play Mauricio Pochettino‘s unbeaten side followed by a double header against Manchester United at Old Trafford, a home game against Arsenal and a trip to Anfield to face title hopefuls Liverpool.
The trip to North London looks a daunting one for West Ham.
Tottenham are the only unbeaten side in the English top five and one of a select few across Europe.
Sitting fifth in the table, the North Londoners are just five points off leaders Liverpool and will expect to challenge for the Champions League places at the very least.
The gap between the two teams has widened this season and there can be little debate that Spurs are the far superior outfit.
But West Ham will have the best player on the pitch at White Hart Lane in the shape of France hero Dimitri Payet.
West Ham’s Dimitri Payet takes on Spurs star Eric Dier
The supremely talented playmaker tops the charts for assists in the Premier League and European World Cup qualifying this season and got another goal and assist in France’s 2-1 win over Sweden during the international break.
He will undoubtedly be singled out for special attention by Pochettino’s side.
On their day Spurs as a team can be unplayable.
But Payet is equally unplayable on his day and will be a major threat throughout.
Payet celebrates after setting up Michail Antonio for the winner against Spurs last season
Last season he starred and set up the only goal as West Ham beat Spurs 1-0 to derail their title bid at Upton Park.
Spurs fans will be hoping the ineffective Payet who was quiet against Stoke turns up at White Hart Lane while Hammers fans will expect a much-improved performance from their talisman.
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