Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Thursday 7 December 2023, 8.15pm GMT
A busy December schedule continues as West Ham United make the trip to north London to face Tottenham Hotspur.
A second successive London derby sees the Irons face Spurs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday 7 December.
The Hammers head into the midweek fixture on the back of 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at London Stadium
Tottenham, meanwhile, return to their home ground following a frantic 3-3 draw with Manchester City last time out.
Tickets…
Supporters are advised that West Ham United's allocation of 3,038 tickets has completely sold out for this fixture.
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 27+ Loyalty Points. The remaining ten per cent (303 tickets) were then made available via a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. This ballot closed at 12pm on Tuesday 14 November.
Travel…
With an almost complete lack of parking and busy London streets surrounding Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is strongly recommended that supporters take public transport, rather than driving to the game.
It is a simple journey from central London too. Just head for Liverpool Street and hop on a London Overground train to White Hart Lane or Greater Anglia service to Northumberland Park. From either, it’s about a ten-minute walk to the Away supporters’ turnstiles in the north east corner of the ground.
If you’d like a slightly longer walk, take the London Underground Victoria line to either Tottenham Hale or Seven Sisters, from where it is a 25 to 30-minute stroll north up Tottenham High Road. Tottenham Hale is also on the Greater Anglia network.
Seven Sisters is also on the London Overground, as is Bruce Grove, which lies midway between Seven Sisters and White Hart Lane, but is served by fewer trains.
Finally, a shuttle bus will run between Wood Green station on the London Underground Piccadilly line.
How to Follow…
Thursday's Premier League match will be able to watch live in the UK on Amazon Prime Video.
If you live outside the UK, click here for details of listings in your territory.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio London 94.9FM and worldwide on whufc.com and our official app.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Team News…
Jarrod Bowen returned from injury in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. The forward had missed the wins over Burnley and FK TSC due to a knock sustained on international duty.
Captain Kurt Zouma was also absent from the draw with Crystal Palace, as was Michail Antonio who remains out.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are contending with a number of absences heading into Thursday’s match.
Ivan Perisic and Rodrigo Bentancur are longer-term injury problems for Spurs, due to an ACL problem and an ankle injury respectively. Defender Micky van de Ven is out until the new year with a significant hamstring setback, while James Maddison also has an ankle injury that will likely see the playmaker miss out into 2024 too.
Ryan Sessengon (thigh) and Manor Solomon (knee) are also out but Richarilson (pelvis) is nearing a return to action, although Thursday’s game might come too soon.
Christian Romero is available again, however, after serving a suspension for a red card.
Opposition…
No one was too sure what to expect when Tottenham Hotspur appointed Ange Postecoglou as manager in the summer, as the 58-year-old became the first Australian to manage in the Premier League as he moved south from Scottish side Celtic.
A raft of high-profile names were linked with the hotseat at Spurs and, by comparison, Postecoglu’s confirmation may have seemed a little understated. Even underwhelming.
Almost half a season on, though, and Ange-ball has taken over N17. Under their new manager, there is a relentless principle at Tottenham to play entertaining football; a style that combines possession play with bravery.
So far, it has worked. Postecoglou led Spurs to 23 points from their first nine games, the most earned by a Premier League manager in their first nine matches, with the Australian winning the Premier League Manager of the Month award in August, September and October.
Unbeaten in their first ten league matches, November had been less fruitful for Tottenham so far. A first defeat of the season, at home to Chelsea, was followed by a loss away at Wolverhampton Wanderers and another defeat against Aston Villa. The weekend’s 3-3 draw against Manchester City has Spurs on 27 points from their opening 14 matches.
While very recent form has slipped, this is a Tottenham side that is learning to play without the focal point of England captain Harry Kane, who departed for German giant Bayern Munich in the summer.
A new look attacking line featuring James Maddison – signed from Leicester City – and former Nottingham Forest winger Brennan Johnson – has done well so far. While Spurs may be without Maddison for the moment, due to injury, there are plenty of reasons for positivity in north London.
Previous Meetings…
The Hammers will visit Spurs’ new home for just the seventh time on Thursday.
West Ham, of course, became the first visiting team to win at Tottenham’s 62,850-capacity home when Michail Antonio fired past Hugo Lloris to secure a 1-0 Premier League victory back in April 2019.
There has been plenty of other drama in our other visits to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Too, with the most dramatic of them all happening in October 2020, when games were being played without supporters present due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.
No Hammer will ever forget our miraculous comeback from three goals down in the final nine minutes, capped by Manuel Lanzini’s unstoppable strike in the fourth minute of added-time.
Since then, though, it has been a less happy hunting ground, with Tottenham winning the three most recent meetings, two in the Premier League and one in the EFL Cup fifth round in December 2021.
Match Officials…
Referee: Michael Salisbury
Assistants Referees: Adam Nunn & Richard West
Fourth Official: Andy Madley
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
Michael Salisbury will take charge of West Ham’s trip to north London to face Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.
Salisbury has been part of the Select Group of Referees since the 2022/23 season and has officiated six Premier League so far this campaign, most recently taking charge of Fulham's 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of November.
He was also the match official for another 3-2 home win, this time for the Hammers against Nottingham Forest in prior to the November international break. He also took charge of the Irons’ defeat at Manchester United in the FA Cup last season.
Salisbury also served as the Video Assistant Referee for the Hammers’ trip to Brentford in early November and in West Ham’s first match of the 2023/24 campaign, away at AFC Bournemouth.
