Your morning Tottenham Hotspur digest on Friday, February 17.
West Ham prediction
Arsenal hero Paul Merson has predicted the outcome of Tottenham's clash against West Ham ahead of this weekend's Premier League clash. Writing for Sportskeeda, Merson said: "Tottenham did pretty well against AC Milan and they kept the scoreline down to 1-0. They were never going to win that game, if I’m being honest.
"If Tottenham could play against City every week at home, they’d be all right. They’d sit back and play on the counter. West Ham are a pretty good team and on their day, there’s not a lot between these teams.
READ MORE: Tottenham's takeover valuation, Eric Dier's Son anger and what Harry Kane did before Milan loss
"Both these sides are a bag of revels. In a game like this where Tottenham need to go and get a win, you don’t know what you’re going to get. They could win this game by a 3-0 margin or play out a draw, and no one would be shocked. It’s a pundit’s nightmare. I would be shocked if they lost, however, because they set up to avoid defeat in Premier League matches.”
Merson's prediction: 1-1
Conte update
Spurs boss Antonio Conte has admitted that he "underestimated" the recent procedure to remove his gallbladder.
"My great sense of responsibility towards the club, the players, the staff and the fans brought me to anticipate my comeback on field," Conte wrote on Instagram. "Sadly I underestimated the procedure, which wasn't a routine operation, but a sudden and serious emergency.
"My body has suffered my impatience, and now I am forced to stop until my entire recovery. Who knows me, understands what a burden this is for me, but it is necessary. Come on you Spurs!"
Read more here.
Van der Vaart claim
Former Tottenham playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has predicted the Lillywhites to finish fifth in the Premier League this season. Speaking about his expectations for the remainder of Spurs ' season, the Dutchman told Ladbrokes: Fanzone: "Saturday's performance and result against Leicester was typical Tottenham; they want to take the next step and join the big boys as a top four club, they have the money and the manager to do so, but they're struggling with the really small steps.
"They're struggling to overcome them and treating them like really big steps. It's not normal for a team to go and beat the best team in the league without conceding, and then lose the next game 4-1 to Leicester City."
He added: "There's quite a gap between Tottenham and sixth, but I think they can think themselves lucky that Liverpool and Chelsea have had really bad seasons. You never know, but I can only see them finishing in fifth."
Read the full interview here.
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