West Ham United are hoping to return to winning ways when they face Tottenham Hotspur tonight in North London, and Michail Antonio fancies his side’s chances despite weekend’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers striker was responsible for Spurs’ first defeat at their new stadium last year after scoring the only goal of the derby, and he isn’t convinced that they are unbeatable after their display against Manchester United last Friday.
“It’s a fresh start again for us, we go again and Tottenham are a team we normally get some good results against,” the West Ham star told Sky Sports News.
“One thing I noticed [from their draw against Manchester United] is that they are not that free-flowing, attacking team they used to be. They sat back quite a bit and played more on the counter. And the next thing is that as much as Harry Kane and Son (Heung-min) are quality players – I feel like every team has got those quality players.
“So, we can’t really concentrate on them being back, or anything like that, we have just got to be able to deal with it on the day. We’ve played there once and we’ve got a 100 per cent record, so hopefully we can keep that 100 per cent record going.”
As expected, Tottenham fans aren’t pleased with Antonio’s comments, and here is how some of them reacted to it on Twitter:
As a Spurs fan I have to agree
— Mark Murphy (@footballmurph) June 23, 2020
He’s saying this whilst West Ham sit in 17th place. The audacity…🤦♂️
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) June 23, 2020
Michail, not every team has a kane or a son let alone both , West Ham definitely don’t have the quality we have so u won’t be able to deal with it
— inyourheadrentfree (@tladderz) June 23, 2020
I mean we aren’t but West Ham are 17th in the league…. his focus is in the wrong place
— Trevor Lloyd (@Trevorlloyd92) June 23, 2020
Show him your golden boots and england caps Harry.
— THFC (@D_M_THFC) June 23, 2020
He’s right but surely Spurs can do over West Ham
— Nicky (@Marshall89Nicky) June 23, 2020
Everyone’s a free-flowing, attacking team when they play against West Ham @Michailantonio
— 🇬🇧 Darryl 🇬🇧 #COYS 🇬🇧 (@THFC_Darryl_WWE) June 23, 2020
Watch us now destroy them tonight COYS
— Joel Clements (@joelclements) June 23, 2020
Despite their attacking quality, Tottenham haven’t particularly impressed in front of goal since Jose Mourinho became manager, and the Portuguese pragmatic approach could give West Ham a chance tonight.
However, the fact that all his six attackers are now available for selection has handed Mourinho a massive boost, and the Hammers defence has got a lot of work on their hands.
David Moyes will be without the injured Sebastian Haller and Robert Snodgrass, but Angelo Ogbonna could return to the lineup to hand the team a much-needed defensive boost.
