Last Word on Football looks at the League Cup tie between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium. The teams met at the same stage of the competition last season at Wembley with West Ham coming from two down to win three two in a classic encounter. Having played in the Premier League against Manchester City on Monday, it won’t be a surprise should Spurs rest stars for this tie.

Spurs Rest Stars For League Cup Tie

Spurs need to win trophies is a comment heard often. Having all but blown any chance of progressing into the group stages of the Champions League, the League Cup could be seen as a chance for silverware.

But having played a tough match on a poor Wembley pitch only 48 hours earlier, Mauricio Pochettino will not want to risk his star players.

Alli and Eriksen May Feature

Academy products Kyle-Walker Peters, Oliver Skipp and Troy Parrott are all expected to feature in some way along with keeper Paulo Gazzaniga. 

Both Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli may feature as both continue their rehabilitation from injuries. Alli has just signed a new del at Spurs which will have given the club and the fans a boost.

Match Planning Farcical and Only Serves to Short-Change Fans

The game against Manchester City was moved to Monday night for two reasons. Firstly because of the continuing delays with Spurs’ new stadium. Secondly due to TV coverage of the match.

Television rights bring a lot of revenue but at what point do fans get considered? A Monday night game is not great for fans travelling across the country – the powers that be seem to forget that not all Spurs fans live in London- and the last trains out of London are close to when the match ended which was not ideal for City fans either.

But the bigger issue is that fans feel shortchanged. The fans want to see their teams best players but Spurs and Pochettino can hardly be blamed for resting players ahead of a late kick-off at Wolves this weekend.

That is a game Spurs cannot afford to drop points in if they want to keep in touch with the top four. If fans are the lifeblood of the sport, maybe it is time that football collectively started to recognise that fact?

Prediction

As Spurs rest stars, it looks like West Ham may not get the toughest matches. Although Spurs academy players have great talent, if West Ham are at full strength, this could be another trophy that will pass Spurs by for another year.

Final Score Prediction: West Ham 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Result to be decided on penalties.

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