Tottenham vs West Ham Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips: Brennan Johnson tipped in Saturday’s early kick-off

Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off comes from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as bitter rivals Tottenham host West Ham. Matthew O’Regan previews the game with bets at 1.83 and 5.50.

After finishing fifth in his first season with the club, Ange Postecoglou has stated that he is a ‘winner’ and always wins in his second season.

This campaign has not started ideally, with his side sitting in ninth place. The season could have looked so different if they had held on against Brighton. Spurs were 2-0 up at half-time in a half that they dominated but failed to capitalise on this dominance, conceding three goals in the space of 18 second-half minutes to lose 2-3. 

Tottenham games have become renowned for goals, with the Lilywhites scoring 14 and conceding eight for an average of 3.14 goals. 

Postecoglou will be sweating on the fitness of attacking trio Heung-Min Son, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert, who have all missed the last few weeks with injury. 

It was the end of an extremely successful era for West Ham as they parted ways with David Moyes, opting to appoint Spaniard Julien Lopetegui. The 58-year-old has had a mixed start to his reign, but his side will be buoyed by the 4-1 win over Ipswich just before the international break.

The Hammers currently sit 12th with eight points. They have been strong on their travels, picking up five points from their three games. It is intriguing to gauge how this game will go. West Ham away games average just two goals a game. 

Lopetegui only has one injury to contend with, as Niclas Füllkrug has a calf injury.

Brennan Johnson came in for criticism from Tottenham fans due to his perceived poor performances to start the season. This prompted him to delete his social media in response. 

Since then, the Welshman has been relentless, with everything he touches seemingly turning to gold. After his goal against Coventry, Johnson scored six goals on the bounce and will be keen to make it eight against West Ham. 

Johnson has played 841 minutes this season, recording 1.29 shots on target per 90. He has had a shot on target in all but two games. 

Ange Postecoglou has become renowned for his high line at Spurs, directly leading to a lot of opposition offsides. So far this season, their opponents average 2.43 offsides, with every team having at least two offsides. 

They also attract a lot of fouls, averaging 15.43 free kicks a game. West Ham concede an average of 16.43 free kicks per game. As this is a rivalry, we could see the free kick count higher than average.

Dejan Kulusevski has fallen down the pecking order as a winger and is now being deployed as a centre midfielder in an attack-heavy side.

Last season, the Swede was booked seven times, averaging 1.76 fouls per 90. He has seen a slight increase in his fouls this season, making an average of 1.88 fouls per 90. 

In two of his four Premier League games as a centre midfielder, Kulusevski has been booked twice already. 

Four centre midfielders have been booked against West Ham this season, while Kulusevski was booked in his last start against The Irons. 

Refereeing this encounter is Andrew Madley, who has averaged over four cards a game this season.