Carabao Cup
West Ham vs Tottenham Preview
West Ham host Tottenham in the fourth Round of the Carabao Cup at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Hammers will be looking to bounce back after conceding a late equalizer against Leicester City.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will be hoping to get back to winning ways after losing to Manchester City on Monday night.
Wednesday’s game will be a tough one for Spurs considering they are playing just 48 hours after their Premier League clash against City.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will undoubtedly look to freshen his side in a competition which represents their best chance of silverware.
For West Ham, they are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup for the third consecutive season.
Team News
Tottenham duo Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli could start after missing the last few games due to injury.
Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that he will make a number of changes due to playing two games in three days.
Youngsters Juan Foyth and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou are expected to start.
For West Ham they have a number of injuries to contend with.
Andriy Yarmolenko, Winston Reid, Andy Carroll, Carlos Sanchez, Manuel Lanzini and Jack Wilshere are all long-term absentees.
However, midfielder Pedro Obiang could make a return after missing the last two matches.
Young West Ham trio Grady Diangana, Joe Powell and Conor Coventry will all look to be involved after impressing in the last round.
Previous Encounters
This is the second successive season that West Ham and Tottenham have met in the Carabao Cup 4th round.
Last season, West Ham came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Wembley Stadium.
They also defeated Spurs in the League Cup quarter-finals in 2013/14 winning 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham won the last meeting between the two sides just a few weeks ago, with Erik Lamela scoring the winning goal.
Interestingly Spurs have won just two of their past 13 League Cup matches against fellow Premier League opposition, drawing three and losing eight of those games.
Predicted Line-Ups
West Ham (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Fredericks, Ogbonna, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Obiang, Snodgrass, Antonio, Anderson, Hernandez
Tottenham (4-2-3-1) Vorm, Aurier, Sanchez, Foyth, Davies, Wanyama, Winks, Alli, N’koudou, Eriksen, Llorente
Match Prediction
This is a tough match to call. In normal circumstances Tottenham would be the favorites but with them having to play two games in just three days, West Ham will fancy their chances.
The Hammers have been Tottenham’s kryptonite in this competition, knocking them out in the last two seasons.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino knows that this is a huge game for his side.
Despite the improvements that have been made since Pochettino took over as Spurs manager, their trophy cabinet is still empty.
He knows that they need to win some silverware to quell the doubters who consider that Tottenham bottle it when it comes to the big occasions.
With both Liverpool and Manchester United already knocked out of the competition, the League Cup represents their best chance to win a trophy.
West Ham will provide a stern test and will look to continue their fine form in the Carabao Cup.
Expect this to be a tight and fiercely contested match which could go to penalties.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Tottenham (Tottenham to win 3-2 on Penalties
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