OPINION
Mark Lawrenson is close to insulting Tottenham in his prediction for Saturday’s clash against West Ham as he implies that they are one man team.
The BBC pundit in his predictions for BBC Sport’s website believes the Hammers will be able to secure a 1-1 draw with Spurs in order to end their recent winning run in the Premier League.
This is an acceptable opinion to have as Manuel Pellegrini’s side are clearly very capable and demonstrated how excellent they could be when they tore Manchester United apart in their last outing at the London Stadium.
However Lawrenson claims the key to the Hammers achieving a positive result against their London rivals is stopping Harry Kane.
“This will be a tough game for Tottenham, though. West Ham’s revival was ended in their defeat by Brighton, but we know now what they are capable of and I think they are solid enough to hold Spurs,” wrote the pundit on BBC Sport’s website.
“The key to that happening is for the Hammers to hold up Harry Kane. He was excellent for England against Spain, so it is West Ham’s turn to deal with him now.”
The fact he lists no other obstacles to the Hammers’ taking points from Saturday’s clash against Spurs, carries the implication that he believes that if you stop Kane then you stop Spurs.
This suggests that he believes Tottenham is a one-man team and Mauricio Pochettino’s side should feel like the pundit is insulting them, or at least coming close to it, as that is so far from the truth it’s laughable.
Spurs’ team is packed with several fantastic talents who can cause the Hammers damage and Pellegrini’s team have to be able to deal with each one of them on Saturday.
Christian Eriksen, Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son and the in-form Erik Lamela are all capable of being match winners on Saturday for Spurs as well as in other games for the London club.
While it’s true Kane has scored five goals in eight league games if you stop him, then Spurs have other players still capable of punishing you.
Therefore the BBC pundit has come dreadfully close to insulting Spurs with his implication his prediction for the match against the Hammers as he is terribly underrating several of their stars.
