Tottenham have been on a topsy-turvy recent run of results which has really dented their ambitions of securing Champions League football.
From a meltdown by Antonio Conte after exiting the FA Cup, Spurs have managed to slightly rejuvenate themselves but they still look some way off the pace in the Premier League.
North London rivals Arsenal have opened up a healthy points advantage but with the two still to play each other before May, everything could change.
Indeed, a win over West Ham United on Sunday would go a long way to helping them achieve their aims.
It’s a hotly anticipated clash with both teams challenging for the top four so it is vital for either side that they leave the ground with all three points.
Antonio Conte’s men defeated Brighton 2-0 last time and despite a few uninspiring performances, particularly from Matt Doherty and Heung-min Son, football.london journalist Alasdair Gold has hinted that Spurs will name an unchanged team this afternoon.
Writing on Sunday morning, he said: “The news that Oliver Skipp could perhaps be back for the Newcastle match after the international break will bring another challenge to the central midfielders but with Ryan Sessegnon out for another four weeks at least before he can challenge Sergio Reguilon, Conte is likely to select his strongest starting XI.”
With that in mind, fans will surely be buzzing to hear this source of information, especially in such a big game where the manager cannot afford to take any prisoners.
Despite Son scoring just once in his last four games, there is no real need to change anything there as his partnership with Harry Kane is now officially the best in Premier League history from a statistical standpoint.
It will also come as a relief to supporters that the club have picked up no further injuries following the Brighton win.
They comfortably dispatched the Seagulls and an unchanged team seems sensible.
Who is Spurs’ best RWB?
Doherty
Emerson
That said, Gold does suggest that Emerson Royal could come in for Doherty, something Football FanCast has suggested could be a viable solution too.
Either way, Conte will know that putting him in the team certainly won’t dampen their attacking threat down that right-hand side.
That is perhaps the only point of debate heading into the match but as long as the Spurs boss does select his best XI, something Gold alludes to, fans will have every right to be pleased when the starting line up is announced later on.
AND in other news, Conte must brutally axe Spurs’ £74k-p/w “weak link” who loses the ball every 4 touches…