West Ham vs Spurs Betting Preview

Tottenham Hotspur have left West Ham's back yard with their tail between their legs on the last two occasions in which they've visited the Boleyn Ground (formerly Upton Park), but the Hammers have been woeful of late, losing their most recent quintet of matches, and scoring just one goal in the five games in question. Conversely, Spurs have really picked themselves up during the last three games, thrashing Fulham 0-4 at Craven Cottage before beating Everton 1-2 at Goodison and, surprisingly to some, gave Bolton a good old pasting at White Hart Lane, beating Sam Allardyce's high-flying charges 4-1. These results are most encouraging for the north London side as it was their indifferent performances away from home - notably a significant lack of goals - that were plaguing them in their bid to make the steep ascent up the Premiership table. But Martin Jol's men appear to be cooking on gas now and they are confidently expected to twist the knife in east London on Sunday afternoon. The heat is on Alan Curbishley - he's a warm favourite to be the first Premier League manager to leave his job - and West Ham are currently nine points adrift of Wigan, who sit in the place above the drop zone, currently consisting of Charlton, the Hammers and Watford. All that trio are all long odds-on to drop, with West Ham probably looking the least fit for the fight of the three clubs. In all fairness to them, they've not had the luck of the draw. Dean Ashton hasn't kicked a ball for them competitively having incurred a serious injury during pre-season, while the upheaval surrounding the new takeover, departure of previous boss Alan Pardew, and most recently the fracas regarding the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Havier Mascharano, have seen to it that the wind has been taken out of the Hammers' sail. However, there can be no excusing the poor form of some of their players, particularly their misfiring strikers. Indeed, Bobby Zamora is their leading scorer at present with just six strikes form 22 appearances in all competitions this season. Meanwhile Marlon Harewood has weighed in with just three goals in 19 sightings. Not good enough. Not nearly good enough. Spurs were expected to be clipping on the heals of the big four and while that dream hasn't been realised as yet, the Lilliwhites are certainly gathering momentum at this crucial stage of the campaign. One of the key features in recent weeks has been the revival of Robbie Keane, so his absence through a ban is a slight detractor, but the visitors have more than enough firepower to see of a woeful West Ham side. Jermaine Defoe hasn't always convinced me this term, but there can be little doubt that, on his day, he's a high-class striker. And, visiting his old club, I reckon the 25-year-old will be up for this game in a major way and, at 2/1 with VCbet, he rates a value bet in the anytime goalscorer market. Verdict - 2pts Jermaine Defoe in the anytime goalscorer market @ 2/1 (Vbet)