John Motson predicted West Ham to beat Tottenham when the two sides clash at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The legendary commentator suggested that a lot of attention was being given to Spurs ahead of the game, given that it is set to be Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge of the club, and pointed out Saturday’s clash is important for the Hammers too.
Motson revealed he was going to agree with the West Ham fan who called into talkSPORT to predict a Hammers’ win, as he thinks it will be 2-1 to Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Saturday.
“Well the Mourinho effect, the mind games have started, Pellegrini has already had a few things to say since Pochettino was replaced by Jose,” said Motson on talkSPORT (14:53, Friday, November 22nd).
“West Ham are six without a win by the way, it’s not all about Tottenham, it’s about the Hammers pulling their season around.
“I’m going to go with the West Ham supporters, I’m going to go with 2-1 West Ham.”
OPINION
Finally, someone has acknowledged that West Ham’s clash with Tottenham actually involves two teams. Since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked with Mourinho taking his place, all the media coverage has been about Spurs and that undersells the story developing at the London Stadium. After all, with the Hammers having not won any of their last six games, there could soon be a manager change at the London club. Pellegrini is no doubt aware of this, as a heavy loss to Spurs could seal his fate. This is because Hammers fans will be particularly vocal if their side suffer a disappointing defeat to the club’s most fierce rivals, and their opinion could force David Gold and David Sullivan to consider if Pellegrini is the right- man. West Ham memorably got a 1-0 win over Tottenham in April away from home, and given that the Hammers strengthen in the summer, they should be able to get a victory at the London Stadium if Pellegrini gets his team selection right.
