Tottenham and West Ham will go head-to-head in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with both managers battling for their jobs.
Thomas Frank's side were eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa and currently sit 14th in the Premier League, with just one win in their last seven games in all competitions. Nuno Espirito Santo's side, on the other hand, sit seven points adrift of safety in the relegation zone, with their only win in the last 11 games coming after extra-time against Championship side QPR in their FA Cup third-round clash last week.
Both sides have some injury concerns heading into the game too, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects both teams to line up for the huge clash.
Tottenham Team News
Tottenham will be without influential Uruguay international Rodrigo Bentancur for around three months due to a hamstring injury, and he joins Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus on the sidelines.
Pape Matar Sarr is still at AFCON after Senegal reached the final, but Yves Bissouma is back, although he is yet to feature under Frank this season. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison remain long-term absentees with knee injuries. New signing Conor Gallagher could make his debut.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Frank shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
"Unfortunately, Richarlison has a hamstring injury that will keep him out for up to seven weeks.
"Lucas [Bergvall] could be available - is probably available - for Saturday. "Bissouma is back, so he’s available as well. Destiny [Udogie] and Dominic [Solanke] are close to finishing a good week's training, both are available, both look good and both are closer to playing more minutes."
Tottenham Predicted XI
Tottenham Predicted XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Gallagher, Gray; Odobert, Kolo Muani, Tel.
Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Kinsky (GK), Davies (DEF), Danso (DEF), Dragusin (DEF), Udogie (DEF), Bergvall (MID), Xavi (MID), Solanke (FWD), Scarlett (FWD).
After joining from Atletico Madrid, Gallagher is likely to go straight into the starting lineup for Spurs and make his debut in this London derby. Cristian Romero should also return in defence following his suspension.
That could leave Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke, who earn a combined £335,000-a-week, on the bench for Frank, while Radu Dragusin could be on the bench despite strong interest from RB Leipzig in his services.
West Ham Team News
The Hammers are in horrendous form right now and have now been rocked by news that key man Lucas Paqueta wants to leave the club, which could spark some concern in the coming weeks.
The Brazilian is a doubt for the game with a lower back injury, while Dinos Mavropanos (neck) and Mateus Fernandes (knock) are also battling to be fit for the game. Lukasz Fabianski is a long-term absentee, while El Hadji Malick Diouf is at AFCON with Senegal.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Espirito Santo shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“All of them are recovering from different things.
“Dinos [Mavropanos] has had a neck [problem], that took some time. It's still painful.
“Mateus [Fernandes] is back doing individual sessions, Lucas [Paqueta] is still on treatment. Let's see, we have a couple of days to go [until the match].”
West Ham Predicted XI
West Ham Predicted XI: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Walker-Peters; Magassa, Potts, Soucek; Bowen, Castellanos, Summerville.
West Ham Predicted Substitutes: Hermansen (GK), Golambeckis (DEF), Igor (DEF), Scarles (DEF), Mayers (DEF), Irving (MID), Rodriguez (MID), Kante (MID), Pablo (FWD).
With a number of key players injured, West Ham are likely to be weakened and that could see Kyle Walker-Peters shuffled across to left-back to add more experience to the side. Taty Castellanos should keep his place in attack too, ahead of fellow January signing Pablo.