A wildly inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur endeavour to end a two-game losing run when they host West Ham United in Sunday's Premier League London derby.
The Lilywhites fell to a 1-0 defeat in their Champions League last-16 first leg with AC Milan in midweek, while David Moyes's men most recently held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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Antonio Conte's brief return to the touchline from gallbladder surgery has been a wholly miserable affair for the Italian, who has since admitted to "underestimating" the procedure as he continues his recovery in his homeland for the time being.
Having retaken the reins from stand-in success Cristian Stellini, Conte oversaw a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Leicester City before Brahim Diaz's seventh-minute goal propelled Milan to victory in their European knockout tie, further denting Spurs' hopes of finally snapping their 15-year trophyless streak.
Despite being taught a footballing lesson by the Foxes last weekend, fifth-placed Tottenham - who will be led by Stellini for the third time this season on Sunday - could end the weekend in the Champions League places with a win if Newcastle United also suffer defeat to Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Some of the Tottenham fanbase reacted positively to news of another temporary promotion for Stellini, who has led Spurs to victories over Marseille and Manchester City while stepping in for Conte, but home is not always where the heart is for Tottenham.
Indeed, the Lilywhites have followed a pattern of losing one then winning one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their last six games, and with their most recent battle ending in victory over Man City, one can expect 90 minutes of nail-biting from the more superstitious among the home crowd.
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The relegation dogfight is one that West Ham are still embroiled in, but back-to-back draws against Newcastle United and Chelsea has restored some faith among the Hammers faithful, who witnessed Emerson Palmieri haunt his old club at the weekend.
A delicate ball over the top from Enzo Fernandez allowed Joao Felix to break the deadlock at the London Stadium, but Emerson levelled just 12 minutes after to deny his former club maximum spoils and extend the Hammers' unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches.
However, Moyes's side were thanking their lucky stars after Tomas Soucek's seemingly clear handball - or "save" as some labelled it - inside the area went unpunished, in one of several dampening moments for the officials last weekend, but that point was enough to lift them above Leeds United into 16th place.
Losing just once in their seven contests since the turn of the year can no doubt be viewed in a positive light for the Hammers, but one win in their last 10 Premier League matches cannot, and Moyes's side are without victory in their last nine top-flight away games since overcoming Aston Villa in August.
Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham in the early weeks of the season, while on their own turf, Conte's side posted a pair of 2-1 and 3-1 wins in the EFL Cup and Premier League respectively last season, but it remains to be seen if Stellini's powers will start to show any signs of waning.
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For a brief moment, Tottenham's fitness concerns had seemingly been extinguished, but Stellini must now work around the absences of four first-team regulars, namely ACL victim Rodrigo Bentancur following his season-ending injury in the loss to Leicester.
Yves Bissouma (ankle), Hugo Lloris (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) are also sidelined for a number of weeks, but a well-rested Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will be primed to return to the XI after serving a Champions League ban at San Siro.
The performances of Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp were silver linings in the defeat to Milan, but the latter may now be the one to make way for Hojbjerg, while Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski were found wanting in Italy and could find their spots under threat from Richarlison.
West Ham did not come out of last weekend's fixtures unscathed either, as Lucas Paqueta was a first-half casualty against Chelsea with a recurrence of a shoulder injury, which will render him unavailable for this contest.
Nayef Aguerd was also an enforced withdrawal towards the end of that match with an adductor problem, but the Moroccan is still in with a chance of lining up this weekend - Ben Johnson or Aaron Cresswell, assuming the latter recovers from illness, could come into a rejigged defensive shape if not.
Alphonse Areola, Maxwel Cornet, Kurt Zouma and Gianluca Scamacca are also taking up spots in the Hammers' infirmary, while Paqueta's likely absence ought to lead to an immediate recall for Soucek in the middle of the park.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Sarr, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Richarlison, Kane, Son
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 West Ham United
Only the bravest souls can confidently predict the outcome of a Tottenham game this season, but Stellini has effectively galvanized his troops in the past and can call upon several attacking options - albeit struggling ones - to take advantage of West Ham's defensive injury crisis.
Moyes's resilient crop can be expected to threaten themselves while Spurs work around the absences of key men, but the Hammers' form on the road is nothing short of abysmal, and we have faith in Tottenham to return to winning ways by a slender margin.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
