West Ham and Tottenham go head-to-head on Saturday in a London derby.
Sign up to our LondonWorld Today newsletter
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to LondonWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
West Ham and Tottenham go head-to-head in a London derby on Saturday in what looks to be one of the fascinating fixtures of the weekend. Each of these two teams played three games before the international break, and they picked up opposing results.
The Hammers lost their first two and won their last one, while Tottenham won their first two and lost their last outing. Over the coming weeks, we should start to see which direction teams are heading in as the table starts to take some sort of shape.
But in the first instance, this game is a derby, and the West Ham camp seem to be well aware of that, with Iron boss Graham Potter having researched Spurs boss Thomas Frank. “I think the motivation is clear for us,” he said. “We know how important this game is for the Club and the fans, so we’re going to go out there and do the best we can to win.
“There isn’t a big sample to look at from the season so far. We’ve played three Premier League games, and in this league you know that every match is going to be a challenge. I’ve played against Thomas’ [Frank] teams a lot over the years, and there’ll be some things there like there was previously. He’s a very well-respected coach, and it’s going to be a tough game, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.
“We want to carry on the feeling of positivity we had after Forest, do our best, and try to come away with all three points.”
Kilman on Spurs derby
Meanwhile, West Ham defender Max Kilman ha said of the Spurs test: “I feel good, I feel excited. Obviously, we're coming back after a good result in the last game and just had the international break. We're all ready for this game coming up.
“I think when there's a rivalry, you always want to do better, you want to beat your rivals, and I think there's just that normal feeling where everyone has a bit more hunger because of the fear of not winning, and obviously you want to do well. We as players all know the importance of this game [to the West Ham fans] and how we need to be up for it and ready and get our first home win of the season.
“It's great when the fans give us a boost but, as players, we know regardless we need to do our job, and we need to put in a performance for them to give them something to cheer about. Of course, regardless if you're playing in the top of the league or in the bottom, you need to try to win every game. I think we all have that kind of mentality, and we've got a good enough squad that can perform in every game.
“To get back-to-back wins in the Premier League with how difficult this league is would be great, especially against Tottenham, but regardless of the opponent, we need to put in a good performance and give our best. Of course it's tough [to have the international break after a win]. We've come off the back of a good result against Nottingham Forest and want to carry on the momentum, and the international break does break it up, but it's something we as players have got to adapt to and deal with.”