Tomorrow lunchtime, Tottenham fans will witness the start of the Jose Mourinho era when they travel to face West Ham United at The London Stadium, a game that over the years has proven to be a fiery, tense affair with bragging rights on the line.
Mourinho will be as desperate as anyone else to get a win in this one, starting his Spurs career with three points over a close rival and hopefully lifting the Lilywhites into the top half of the table. To do that, though, he’ll have to target the weaknesses in this West Ham side.
It has to be said that the Irons might be struggling at the moment, but they’ve got a very talented team full of players capable of toppling even the best sides in the world when they’re at their best, although they still have weaknesses and there are areas for Mourinho to exploit.
The key area, that we believe can be got at, given the Irons’ recent form, is at the base of the Hammers midfield where Decan Rice plies his trade. The young England man is a sublime player, but his recent form has been below his usual levels and he can certainly be got at.
Comparing Rice’s stats from this season to last, the 20-year-old is being dribbled past more, committing more fouls and is making fewer blocks and clearances this season to what he was in the 2018/19 season (WhoScored) and whilst he’s struggling for form it makes sense to get at him.
Will we beat West Ham this weekend?
Yes
No
Sticking one of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen or Giovani Lo Celso on Rice, preventing him from being able to play the ball out from the back and stopping him from being able to find his best combative form could be key to getting at the Hammers, and it’s something that we believe Mourinho could really use to start his Tottenham career with a win.