Preview: West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur

For the first time since Daniel Levy's shock departure, Tottenham Hotspur take to the field on Saturday evening, facing West Ham United in a Premier League London derby.

The Lilywhites have undergone seismic changes off the field during the international break, whereas the Hammers are riding high on the back of an unexpected first success.

Match preview

December 18, 2000. The last time Tottenham played a Premier League game without Levy overseeing operations in some shape or form; the Lilywhites drew 1-1 with North London rivals Arsenal on that occasion with Sol Campbell as captain, Tim Sherwood in midfield and Les Ferdinand leading the line.

Levy was appointed to the board of directors two days later, became executive chairman two months later, and was removed from his position 24 years later, an unforeseen but long-awaited major development in the eyes of many disillusioned Tottenham supporters.

The 63-year-old had overseen Spurs' rise from mid-table battlers to Europa League winners and Champions League contenders, but those above him felt that a shake-up could bring even greater success to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where ex-Arsenal chief Vinai Venkatesham is now CEO.

Levy's final match as executive chairman was a forgettable affair for him, Thomas Frank and his players, who were bested 1-0 by Bournemouth on home soil as their 100% Premier League record in 2025-26 came to an end, courtesy of an Evanilson effort.

In truth, a 1-0 scoreline flattered a tepid Tottenham side, who have now been beaten in 17 of their last 23 top-flight games not against newly-promoted teams and have also won just three of their last 16 London derbies in the competition.

Such statistics paint an ugly picture before a trip to a resurrected West Ham side, who may have been ruing the timing of the first international break of the season after defying their first three results of the season at Nottingham Forest's City Ground.

Graham Potter's men followed up humblings at the hands of Sunderland and Chelsea with an EFL Cup exit vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, but the Irons incredibly put three past the Tricky Trees without reply through Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Callum Wilson in Nuno Espirito Santo's farewell.

Forest's off-field turmoil may not have helped matters for the Garibaldi, but Graham Potter's side mercilessly capitalised to pick up their maiden victory of the Premier League campaign, but each of their last three successes in the top flight has come away from home.

Indeed, the Hammers have failed to triumph in any of their last six Premier League contests at the London Stadium - losing three and drawing three in front of their own fans - although they have found the net in their last five on familiar territory.

That streak includes a 1-1 draw with the Lilywhites at the London Stadium last season - the same result that occurred in this exact fixture in 2023-24 and 2022-23 - and Spurs have remarkably not won a Premier League game on West Ham's turf since the pre-lockdown days of 2019.

West Ham United Premier League form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Team News

Two new Tottenham recruits could be in line for their Premier League debuts at the London Stadium, where Xavi Simons and deadline-day signing Randal Kolo Muani are primed to make their first appearances for the visitors, but only the former should be in with a chance of starting.

Kolo Muani, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke could find themselves in a three-way battle for the striker's spot if the latter can battle back from an ankle injury, while Yves Bissouma might also recover from an unspecified issue but is unlikely to force his way into the XI.

Kota Takai (foot), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (ACL) and Radu Dragusin (ACL) are also absent for the visitors, although the latter has now cleared a huge hurdle in his rehabilitation.

On West Ham's end, the Irons have just re-signed veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski on a short-term deal, while Igor Julio has also arrived on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion after snubbing a move to Crystal Palace, no doubt to Marc Guehi's dismay.

On a more negative note, Niclas Fullkrug is now sidelined with a calf strain and will not play again before the end of the month at the earliest, joining Luis Guilherme (shoulder) and the doubtful George Earthy (ankle) in the medical bay.

Wilson would be a straight swap for Fullkrug up front, but Potter could alternatively stick Bowen in a central role if he wishes to bring in super sub Crysencio Summerville, who came on in the 82nd minute of the win over Forest before providing an assist and winning a penalty in the space of a few moments.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf; Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Fernandes, Paqueta, Summerville; Bowen

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Sarr, Simons; Richarlison

We say: West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur

Â

Whether West Ham can pick up where they left off before the international break remains to be seen, but Spurs were fortunate to only lose by one against Bournemouth, so Potter's men can no doubt hurt their derby foes in the final third.

However, a Tottenham side reinforced by some exciting new attacking options can bite back even harder to return to triumphant ways, in what ought to be a thrilling watch for the neutrals.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Â

No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!