West Ham United's late defeat against Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon has left a nasty bruise, not least because David Moyes' side had impressively engineered a 3-1 lead heading into the final quarter.
Still seventh in the Premier League, though slenderly so and having played an additional game than their rivals, West Ham face quite the task in securing a European qualifying spot if a vein of consistency is not found soon.
Up next, Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur make the cross-London trip to avenge their home loss to the Irons in the reverse fixture. The Hammers will be up for the occasion, eager to put the loss on Tyneside behind them.
West Ham team news
Crucially, Edson Alvarez will miss out once again as he serves the second match of a two-game suspension after amassing ten yellow cards this season.
Nayef Aguerd may return to central defence but goalkeeper Alphonse Areola will miss out after picking up a groin injury in Newcastle, with the Frenchman boasting the finest shot-stopping record in the division this season.
1.
Alphonse Areola
West Ham
75.8%
2.
Alisson
Liverpool
75.3%
3.
Andre Onana
Manchester United
74.7%
4.
Nick Pope
Newcastle United
73.6%
5.
Bart Verbruggen
Brighton & Hove Albion
72.9%
Tottenham have a wealth of attacking firepower that could damage the hosts, and considering this, Moyes might be inclined to push Lucas Paqueta into a deeper-lying role, pushing James Ward-Prowse to the bench.
West Ham could ditch James Ward-Prowse vs Spurs
It goes without saying that Kalvin Phillips will not find his way onto the starting teamsheet, with the England international having an utterly torrid time in east London as he completes a six-month loan spell, seeking (unsuccessfully) to resurrect his flagging career.
Another player who might find themselves away from the starting line-up this evening is Vladimir Coufal, who has been largely dependable this season but committed the early penalty at St. James' Park, won just one duel and lost possession 12 times during a wholly forgettable display.
Ward-Prowse, signed from Southampton for £30m last summer, started excellently and indeed has five goals and 11 assists as a Hammer, praised for his "magic" ability on the ball by journalist Benjy Nurick. He scored against Tottenham back in December.
But he's not quite been at the races recently and was particularly shocking last month against Burnley, taking just 24 touches and failing to win a ground duel as the relegation strugglers went 2-0 up at the break. Ward-Prowse, along with Phillips, was hooked.
Playing Paqueta in a deeper, central role would certainly be a possibility against Tottenham, with the Brazilian ranking among the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 6% for progressive passes, the top 1% for tackles, the top 18% for interceptions and the top 4% for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.
Paqueta also won nine duels against Newcastle, made two tackles and two key passes, highlighting his elite and complete skill set that more than facilitates his return to a deeper role.
Of course, this does open up the question regarding who would play alongside or behind Michail Antonio in the talismanic role, and Ward-Prowse could certainly do a job higher up, with Danny Ings also capable in a more creative deployment, creating four key passes when he last sat in an attacking midfield role in the Premier League, against Sheffield United in January.
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This could take the Hammers up a level entirely.
ByTom Cunningham
While Moyes is not one for widespread changes, West Ham's fragility was concerning against the Magpies and he might be convinced to tweak the set-up against Tottenham, who will come out firing as they fight for their own European qualifying spot.