This weekend is going to be an interesting one at The London Stadium. West Ham fans all know that Manuel Pellegrini is under growing pressure, and after seeing their Saturday opponents sack and replace Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho in space of just 11 hours on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the thought of changing their gaffer will be on their minds.
However, those thoughts won’t come out if the Hammers can beat their London rivals and claim bragging rights this weekend, but for that to happen they’ll need to be at their very best and will need to work well to keep one key Tottenham man quiet.
It won’t be easy for the Irons no matter who Pochettino opts to start as the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Tanguy Ndombele are all sublime players who can change games on their own, but the man we’re picking who Pellegrini needs a plan to stop is someone who has struggled over the last couple of seasons.
That man, as you might have guessed, is Dele Alli. The English midfielder is incredibly talented, but he’s struggled for form over the last 18 months or so, with his combined eight goals and assists in the 2018/19 season being his lowest recorded in his Premier League career so far (Transfermarkt).
However, Declan Rice’s form has come up for debate in recent weeks whilst Dele has scored twice in his last four games in the Premier League, and if Dele can get going and steal a march on Rice in front of Pellegrini’s back four then things could turn sour very quickly for the Hammers.
Will West Ham beat Spurs?
Yes, It is the perfect time to play them
No, they will have too much for us
Obviously, if Rice can find his best form and keep his 23-year-old compatriot quiet then it will be a much easier afternoon for the home side, but it’s certainly something to look out for Pellegrini as he’ll be preparing for an interesting matchup against the Irons’ biggest Premier League rivals.
