Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United Match Preview

Photo Credit: West Ham United FC

On Wednesday 22nd of January, Tottenham Hotspur are set to face West Ham United at Gaughan Group Stadium in the quarter finals of the Subway Women’s League Cup. Going into the quarter finals, Spurs have beaten Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Charlton Athletic, and the Hammers have been successful against London City Lionesses, Southampton and Portsmouth, meaning that both teams have topped their respective groups, with nine points each.

The hosts have had significant success in their past five fixtures, winning four matches, drawing once, and obtaining an average of 1.4 goals per game. This sets them up to be in great form going into this midweek fixture. However, they have had significant losses against the leading teams of the Women’s Super League, conceding a total of 15 goals to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City in their fixtures before the winter break, leaving them in 6th on the table after this weekend. Top scorer and captain Bethany England is a likely feature in the Spurs lineup on Wednesday, having scored a total of five goals and bagging one assist so far this season in the WSL. Other possible features could include new signing from Leicester City, goalkeeper Lize Kop who played in their WSL match last weekend, keeping a clean sheet against her old team, and summer transfer window signing Hayley Rasso who has already scored once for the team this season.

The visitors, however, are not shaping up as well as Tottenham going into this fixture. In their previous five fixtures, they have won three times, but lost twice, and only kept a clean sheet in one of their three victories. After a significant loss to Chelsea this weekend, losing five goals to nil, the Hammers go into this fixture having conceded a total of eleven goals in their previous five games. Now sitting in 10th position in the WSL table after matchday 11, the Hammers must be cautious to avoid relegation, though their victories in the League Cup suggest that they should expect relative success. Fans can expect to see captain Katrina Gorry featured in the lineup on Wednesday, having come back from a shoulder injury sustained in November; despite this period away from the pitch, she remains the team’s top scorer this season, with three goals to her name and two assists. Another likely player to feature in Wednesday's fixture is Anouk Denton, who is also making a name for herself this season, having started every match so far and accumulating two goals so far in this WSL season.

Head-to-head, it is Tottenham who come out on top more frequently, having won half of their previous twenty-six meetings, and all three of their most recent clashes. West Ham have only seen victory seven times in comparison, suggesting that it is Spurs who will succeed on Wednesday night. However, could the Hammers draw a shock victory under the lights at Gaughan Group Stadium?

You can watch the match on YouTube this Wednesday 22nd of January, with kick-off at 7:30pm, if you’re not already attending. Click here to watch the match!