September 21, 2024

Gareth Bale on bench for Tottenham, but Harry Kane starts and Michail Antonio back in West Ham starting line-up

Bale #Bale

Michail Antonio starts for West Ham in the London derby against Tottenham, but Gareth Bale is on the bench for Spurs.

Jose Mourinho hinted Bale would be involved in the London derby having taken him off early in their Europa League win on Thursday where Harry Kane was rested.

Antonio is back after a three-match absence with fatigue and leads the line for David Moyes’ side at London Stadium

AFP

Antonio is back after a three-match absence with fatigue and leads the line for David Moyes’ side at London Stadium

However, Kane is joined by Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura in attack

Ahead of the game, David Moyes challenged his players to take the next step in their development by winning the big games required to seal a top-six finish.

While the Hammers have registered impressive victories at Leicester, Everton and Aston Villa, they have yet to beat any of the traditional top six during the campaign and their last five league defeats have been to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and twice to Liverpool.

Including this weekend’s clash with Spurs, West Ham face four of the so-called big boys over the next month and Moyes knows success in those results is crucial, especially approaching the business end of the campaign.

Bale’s goal and assist against Wolfsberger has seen him earn a place among the Spurs subs

AFP or licensors

Bale’s goal and assist against Wolfsberger has seen him earn a place among the Spurs subs

“You need to keep very level and take it a game at a time,” he said.

“What you tend to find, and I wouldn’t say we are in the run-in period yet, we’ve probably got another five or six games before you start talking and using the word run-in, but I always thought in the run-in you had to win some big games.

“I always remember Sir Alex [Ferguson] talking about nothing really gets decided until the back end of February, March and April when you’re competing for big games, league position, semi-finals and finals of cups.

“If we are truthful, this is the time we need to start getting into really good form and getting ready to win the big games which will count and make the difference.”

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