Three things to look out for when West Ham face Tottenham

It can’t get any worse for West Ham, right? We face Tottenham tomorrow night in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Will the game be a repeat of the performance against them in September? Here are three things to look out for…

How long will the board keep up the never ending cycle?

Following last week’s dreadful result there were many calls for Slaven Bilic to be sacked. With only 2 wins from 9 games after a 3-0 loss against Brighton, it was expected by the fans. But Sky Sports News reported that Bilic now has the next two games to save his job with these being against Tottenham tomorrow night and Crystal Palace on the weekend.

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How many times have we seen this before? Bilic has been given numerous ‘must-win’ games during his tenure as West Ham manager and he has survived them all. We had this situation against Huddersfield, and we won. It was the same against Swansea, and we won. But what happens if we win both games this week, and lose next weekend? The uncertainty surrounding Bilic’s position is beginning to frustrate fans. Will this be his last chance? I doubt it.

Will we see a weakened XI?

It is likely that Tottenham will rest their key players for this clash though looking at our performances this season, our first team will struggle against them. Tottenham have great depth in their side whilst we do not. If this is one of the games that Bilic has been given to save his job, surely he cannot risk losing the game? So will he play our first team?

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This is one of our only shots at winning a trophy this season and getting knocked out by Tottenham will not go down well. But let’s not forget that we are only above the relegation zone through goal difference. Our focus has to be on the Premier League and we need our players fit and ready for the game against Crystal Palace.

Will we see the return of Declan Rice?

Declan Rice had a good start to the season following his substitute appearance against Manchester United on the opening day of the season. He was rewarded with a start against Newcastle in late August though came off at half-time following a poor performance.

Since then, Rice has not started a single game and has only come off the bench once, in the 93rd minute against Huddersfield. Rice did start in our last game in this competition against Bolton. Will we see Bilic hand him a start tomorrow night?