Enda McElhinney’s selections for Saturday’s London derby include a win for Tottenham with goals at both ends.
The Premier League resumes on Saturday after the international break and the early kick off on Saturday is an all-London affair as Tottenham entertain West Ham.
Spurs suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat at Brighton in the last round of fixtures after blowing a 2-0 lead and will be desperate to get back to action to try and put that right, while the break probably came at the wrong time for West Ham who will be looking to build on a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ipswich.
Best bets
Tottenham to win & both teams to score
6/4
James Maddison to score anytime
5/2
West Ham over 2.5 cards
4/5
Home comforts for Spurs
Spurs’ biggest problem this season has been inconsistency and they’ve followed up some of their best displays with disappointing performances and results. After thrashing Everton earlier in the campaign they lost a game they should have won at Newcastle, while they produced their best performance of the season in a convincing win at Old Trafford before collapsing against Brighton in their next league game.
However, Tottenham’s troubles have largely come on the road and their only home loss has been at the hands of fierce rivals Arsenal. West Ham haven’t lost away, but this is their most difficult road game so far and a home win looks likely as Spurs have three wins in four games at this venue.
The Hammers can get on the scoresheet as only Chelsea have managed to deny them a goal in nine games across all competitions this term, while Spurs have conceded in their last two, so a home win with goals at both ends looks a decent starting point for the early game on Saturday.
Maddison has magic touch for Spurs
Son Heung-min and Dominic Solanke would be the go-to candidates for goals for Spurs, but as a bit of an outside option James Maddison looks a worthy wager at 5/2 to score anytime.
The midfield playmaker is halfway towards matching his tally of four goals from last season after just seven games, and both of those goals have come in his last three starts.
The 27-year-old is averaging a solid 2.1 attempts per game and tends to be fairly accurate, averaging 1.1 per game on target and a further 0.7 blocked. Maddison has also had a few attempts from set pieces, so there are a variety of ways he can hurt this Hammers defence.
Hammers could be handed a few cards
West Ham have been fairly well behaved this season with just 16 yellow cards in total in seven games, an average of 2.2 per-game, but three or more looks a reasonable total for the visitors here at just shy of evens.
The Hammers have picked up at least three cards in four of their last five league games and they saw three players booked in the corresponding fixture last term, while Spurs have a few attacking players who have a habit of drawing fouls.
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