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Michael Owen predicts West Ham v Tottenham

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Michael Owen reckons that West Ham United will face defeat at the hands of Tottenham on Saturday.

The Hammers come off the back of an agonising 2-2 draw with Leicester City last weekend, while their opponents come off the back of a last-gasp win over Brighton on Tuesday.

The former Liverpool forward pointed out that the Hammers played excellently against the Foxes last weekend, but says that their tendency to leak goals is the thing that is going to prove to be their downfall against Spurs.

“It looked like being one of those nights for Spurs against Brighton midweek but Christian Eriksen’s late winner was enough to give the hosts their fourth successive win since moving into the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and they have yet to concede a goal in that run,” he said in his Bet Victor Blog.

“West Ham played their part in a terrific game against Leicester last weekend, but they continue to leak goals and I feel the hosts will gain another valuable three points although they may lose their proud defensive home record.”

OPINION

If anything, Spurs looked rather desperate against Brighton on Tuesday night, and they did not look like the usual team that we witness playing brilliantly. If they can struggle against a team in the relegation battle, then surely West Ham have a chance of getting a result over them? However, Owen is right – the fact that they leak goals often is going to be their downfall on Saturday. Unlike Brighton, the Irons’ defence is not as strong, and this something that Spurs can really take advantage of. After the way Fabian Balbuena left Jamie Vardy to score from the back post is worrying, and it reinforces the fragility of their back four. That is something that they can simply not allow to happen on Saturday, otherwise they will be in big trouble – particularly with the likes of Heung min-son and Fernando Llorente lurking. This is a weakness that Manuel Pellegrini desperately needs to address ahead of the game.

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