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Greetings, Spurs fans! Did you know, I actually love West Ham. No, really, I do! There's nothing like a spiral-cut shank of farm-raised pig from Colorado or Wyoming, slow-roasted over hardwood. So good. In fact, I'm planning on making a big pot of Rio Zape beans this weekend with a smoked western ham hock for some added flavor along with the standard mirepoix. Delicious! Wait, what?
Tottenham heads to Upton Park, home of the Hammers and, if rumors are true, a potential temporary home for Spurs once they break ground on the new Naming Rights Stadium. West Ham has been a bit of a bugaboo for Tottenham the past couple of seasons, but Spurs are hoping to nick some points off the Hammers in order to hold off Ryan Giggs' United and keep a Europa League place for next season. Meanwhile, Big Sam Allardyce is clearly using this match to position himself for the Barcelona job, should it suddenly come open this summer.
Lineups:
Team v West Ham - Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Kaboul, Rose; Lennon, Paulinho, Sigurdsson, Eriksen; Adebayor, Kane. #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 3, 2014
Subs v West Ham: Friedel, Chiriches, Fryers, Bentaleb, Pritchard, Sandro, Soldado. #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 3, 2014
Team v @SpursOfficial: Adrian, Reid, McCartney, Nolan, Tomkins, Carroll, Taylor, Noble, Demel, Diame, Downing. #WHULIVE #COYI
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) May 3, 2014
Subs v @SpursOfficial: Jarvis, Armero, Vaz Te, Collins, Jaaskelainen, C Cole, Nocerino. #WHULIVE #COYI
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) May 3, 2014
A surprise! Gylfi Sigurdsson gets the start in central midfield in what looks like Tim Sherwood's usual 4-4-2 formation. Nacer Chadli doesn't make the side, so clearly he's dead. Roberto Soldado, meanwhile, remains rooted to the bench for some reason (SHERWOOOOOOOOD!!).
Remember the rules, folks -- no links to illegal streams, keep the subject matter on-topic, no slagging off players or managers. The guideline is that you can say "John Terry is playing like s&#!," but you can't say "JOHN TERRY IS S&#!." Even if it's true. It's about decorum.
Have fun!