Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to keep up their pursuit of Premier League leaders Chelsea when they make the short trip across the capital to face West Ham United at the London Stadium on Friday evening.
Time is running out for Spurs to overhaul the Blues, who head into the final four matches of the season sitting four points clear and remain strong favourites to lift a third title in the space of eight years.
West Ham United
© Getty Images
Manager Slaven Bilic may have seen his side go four games without defeat, beginning with a truly massive 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Swansea City a month ago, but questions over his job continue to be asked.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that the Croat's position is currently under review and a decision will be made in the summer, having failed to match the success of last season's first campaign when finishing seventh and qualifying for the Europa League.
On the eve of this London derby showdown, Bilic insisted that he is feeling "calm and focused", ready for the final three games of what has been a disappointing season for the Hammers near enough from start to finish.
Starting with just one win from their first seven league games, West Ham have essentially been playing catch-up ever since while at the same time trying to adapt to life in their new London Stadium home - something opponents Tottenham will become accustomed to in the coming years.
United's home form has simply not been good enough, collecting 22 points from 17 games - more than half the number Spurs have accumulated at the soon-to-be demolished White Hart Lane - winning just one of the last six to be played there.
Since seeing off Swansea here in that solitary recent triumph, West Ham have played out successive draws against Sunderland, Everton and Stoke City - a mixed bag of results on the face of it, and in the case of the latter a match that they can perhaps feel aggrieved not to have won.
All this leaves the Hammers seven points above the dropzone and likely already safe, with a point from their remaining fixtures against Spurs, Liverpool and Burnley getting them to the 40-point mark and all but making certain of survival.
The one question that then remains to be answered is whether Bilic is entrusted to overlook the club's transfer spending in the summer, following a rather disastrous recruitment drive last time around, but the under-fire boss will at least point to three clean sheets in four as a sign that things are starting to improve.
After winning four of his first five London derbies in Premier League management, Bilic has since won just two of 10 - three draws and five defeats in the others - and another loss on Friday will only make his future appear a little more uncertain.
Recent form in Premier League: LLWDDD
Tottenham Hotspur
© SilverHub
While Tottenham's pursuit of Chelsea has been fairly relentless in the Premier League, simply not giving up hope and putting together nine wins on the spin, time is now the biggest factor working against them.
Spurs are unsurprisingly the form team in the division, losing just one of their last 19 fixtures - a 2-0 reverse at Anfield on February 11 - and winning 16 of those to remain just about within touching distance of the Blues.
Not since 1960 have the Lilywhites enjoyed form quite like this in the top flight, when stringing together 13 victories in succession, and they will now almost certainly finish in a Premier League-high position of second, barring any late collapse that surpasses the one witnessed last time around.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has constantly claimed that the target is to finish above all 19 other teams, rather than simply bettering North London rivals Arsenal, but last weekend's rather straightforward 2-0 win over the Gunners would certainly have felt good.
Finishing as top dogs in this part of the capital is just one of the long-running hoodoos they have managed to put right, and now the target is to finally add some further silverware to the cabinet - if not this time around then certainly in 2017-18.
If Spurs are to end their near-six decade wait for a top-flight crown then winning all four remaining games is a must, but that is certainly no easy ask as they are also still to face top-four chasing Manchester United next weekend in their final game at White Hart Lane.
They then see out their campaign on the road with games against Leicester City and Hull City, the latter of whom will also likely require some sort of result, while Chelsea have four winnable fixtures in Middlesbrough, Watford, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.
A defeat for the Blues last weekend at Everton in their toughest remaining fixture by quite some distance would have made things interesting; now it is simply a case of Spurs keeping their half of the bargain and hoping for a major helping hand from elsewhere.
Recent form in Premier League: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLWW
Team News
© Getty Images
Bilic is unsure whether he will be able to call upon Andy Carroll and Arthur Masuaku for Friday's clash, with the pair struggling from groin and foot injuries respectively.
Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro Obiang and Michail Antonio are all confirmed out, meanwhile, and Diafra Sakho will also play no further part in this injury-plagued campaign due to a back problem sustained recently.
One man who is likely to start for the Hammers is Manuel Lanzini, who has 13 Premier League goals to his name, eight of which have arrived in London derby fixtures.
Tottenham boss Pochettino has a big decision to make at full-back, as Danny Rose is expected to return to the squad after three months out injured and Kyle Walker is also pushing for a recall on the opposite flank.
There is little change on the injury front, with Erik Lamela, Harry Winks and Cameron Carter-Vickers all still out, meaning that Pochettino could go with an unchanged side after making it nine league wins in a row last time out.
Harry Kane will almost certainly lead the line, having netted five in five against United and also scored in 18 of his last 20 London derbies - 19 in 26 overall.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Adrian; Fonte, Reid, Collins; Fernandes, Kouyate, Nordtveit, Cresswell; Lanzini; Ayew, Calleri
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Wanyama; Son, Eriksen, Alli; Kane
Head To Head
West Ham have picked up one win from their last five Premier League meetings with Spurs, drawing one and losing three of those, but that solitary triumph did come in this fixture last season - a 1-0 victory in March 2016.
Tottenham won the reverse match 3-2 earlier this season in a real thriller, scoring two late goals to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign, and now have a chance to achieve the league double over their rivals for the first time in four years.
The Hammers, meanwhile, are going in search of back-to-back home league wins against Tottenham for the first time since the turn of the millennium in 2000.
We say: West Ham United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham have looked stronger at the back in recent weeks and are as good as safe after keeping their points tally ticking over. All focus will therefore be on Spurs who have the advantage of playing 72 hours before Chelsea, knowing that anything less than victory will signal the end of their title hopes for another season.
No Data Analysis info
