· Brian Judson's Preview
· Last Year's Game - West Ham 0 Spurs 1
· This week - last year
· What happened in the Premiership in Match 29 2001-2
· Some more recent fixtures
Last Six Premiership results:-
West Ham
Arsenal 3 1 West Ham
Charlton 4 2 West Ham
West Ham 2 1 Blackburn
West Ham 0 3 Liverpool
Leeds 1 0 West Ham
West Brom 1 2 West Ham
Spurs
Spurs 4 3 Everton
A. Villa 0 1 Spurs
Spurs 0 1 Newcastle
Chelsea 1 1 Spurs
Spurs 4 1 Sunderland
Spurs 1 1 Fulham
Pos P W D L F-A GD Pts
8 Spurs 28 12 7 9 41-38 3 43
18 West Ham 28 5 8 15 30-53 -23 23
Those West Ham fans who have an annual bet with Spurs acquaintances over who will finish higher in the league will have paid up already, as Spurs are an unassailable 20 points ahead of a Hammers side facing an all too real battle aginst the drop. Still, with two wins in their last 4 games, The Irons will be feeling more confident, and of course this is their big Derby game, and they will be more than "up for it"!
I have already admitted this week that I shall be backing Les Ferdinand to score against us, and I have done that. Of course I want my own team to win, but I have this horrible feeling that Mr Sod will be taking a hand and that Leslie will be on the scoresheet. He scored the winner for us in the corresponding fixture last season, but did not play in our 3-2 win at The Lane in September, when Anthony Gardner popped up to score a dramatic last minute winner in front of the Sky TV cameras.
Robbie Keane will still be out, and I fear he will be struggling to make the Liverpool game on March 15th. So, will Glenn stick to Doherty up front, or can we hope for some pace in the shape of Matthew Etherington to play an earlier part?
Whilst young Defoe is The Hammers' top scorer overall, it is Paulo Di Canio who has scored most league goals (7), whilst Defoe and Sinclair are just behind him. Di Canio famously fell out with Glenn Roeder last week, when substituted just after half time, so will he play this week?
West Ham will be after only their second home win of the season, and (sorry folks) I fear it could happen. Call it reverse psychology if you like, but I'll stick to my 2-1 prediction to the home side. Hope I'm wrong!
