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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 15
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London, England
Thursday, 7 December 2023
Kick-off is at 22h15
Tottenham will be looking to build on their performance at Manchester City when they host West Ham in a London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday, December 7.
Spurs played out to a thrilling 3-3 draw with the Citizens at the Etihad Stadium on December 3 as Dejan Kulusevski headed home a 90th-minute equaliser to halt a run of three successive defeats in the
Premier League.
Ange Postecoglou's side lost more ground to Arsenal in the title race, with their fierce North London rivals having beaten Wolves 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on December 2 to go two points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.
The Reds leapfrogged City into second place courtesy of a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over Fulham at Anfield, while a third straight draw for the defending champions left them three points adrift of the Gunners.
Alamy Stock Photo
The Hammers are just about holding onto nine spot after a 1-1 draw with city neighbours Crystal Palace at the London Stadium extended their unbeaten streak to three matches.
Chelsea (10th) and Brentford (11th) both won on matchday 14 to edge closer to David Moyes' side, who are two points clear of the West London duo.
Giovani Lo Celso has seized his chance in the team after recovering from a hamstring injury that saw him miss four games earlier in the campaign. The Argentine midfielder made back-to-back starts against Aston VIlla and City and rewarded his manager's faith in him by scoring two beauties in those two matches.
Mohammed Kudus has made a promising start to his West Ham career and was their star player against the Eagles. The Ghana international opened the scoring in the 13th minute and had another goal ruled out for offside in the second half. There are expectations amongst Hammers supporters that he can become a great player in the claret and blue.
Postecoglou believes Spurs will come out of an extremely challenging period that much stronger and feels their ability to stay in the fight until the very end will give the players much-needed belief.
"We're going through a tough period, absolutely, in terms of personnel, players playing in positions they're not familiar with and, at the same time, me not wanting them to compromise on the team we want to be, so it's not easy," he said.
"I always feel that if you can get through these tough periods in the manner which I think you need to, and that is trying to stay true to what you started, trying to work on the team you want to become, you come out of it stronger, irrespective of the knocks you get along the way.
"I think how you deal with tough times is just as important. I really do. That's why I've been really strong on us not wavering from playing the football that we want to play.
"I guess a day like today, if nothing else, gives the players a bit of belief in themselves as people more than players, that you know what, they do have that character and belief that even in the toughest of circumstances, not to lay down."
Moyes reserved special praise for Kudus, who has bagged three goals in 11 appearances since making the switch from Ajax in August.
"Mohammed Kudus got another goal and I thought he was excellent, I really did," the Scot declared. "Right from the start he caused Tyrick Mitchell, who is a good full-back, a lot of problems.
"He was probably our brightest spark and our brightest chance to get a goal. He scored a really good goal and it was a good move too, to get us the goal.
"He's settled in well, getting us goals, and in the main a lot of the forward boys - whether it be Tomas Soucek or Mo, or Lucas Paqueta or Jarrod Bowen – have been getting us goals so long may it continue."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Tottenham - 2
West Ham - 2
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 15 fixtures:
Tuesday, December 5
21h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley
22h15: Luton Town v Arsenal
Wednesday, December 6
21h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford
21h30: Crystal Palace v Bournemouth
21h30: Fulham v Nottingham Forest
21h30: Sheffield United v Liverpool
22h15: Aston Villa v Manchester City
22h15: Manchester United v Chelsea
Thursday, December 7
21h30: Everton v Newcastle United
22h15: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
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