The main similarity between these two teams in the past 12 months has been changing stadia. West Ham’s controversial move to the London Stadium became an excuse, and attracted attention.
Spurs’ departure from White Hart Lane was not overblown in the same way, but the speculation over their fortunes at Wembley has been vast.
This clash is not under the arch of the national stadium. It is in the once-Olympic arena and is a match that could prove fatal for Slaven Bilic, who remains favourite to leave his post.
The former Croatia boss continues to teeter on the brink of the sack with the Hammers, and his side have taken a mere four points from their opening five league matches.
It’s hardly been a flying start to the season for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, either.
Draws with Swansea and Burnley have blighted their campaign to date, and rotation has taken away the balance from a side that was a well-oiled machine for the majority of the last campaign.
In one of the league’s bitterest rivalries, this match – even before October has begun – is significant in the seasons of both.
The importance to the fans is always great, but this has implications for both beyond the geographical dislike.
Bilic’s line-ups this season have done more than raise eyebrows. People have probably fainted when they saw Javier Hernandez begin on the flank. With Marko Arnautovic back in action – and having played in midweek – we surely won’t see that again.
Michail Antonio is the Irons’ best outlet against this Spurs defence, who should find any aerial bombardment angled towards Andy Carroll easier than most.
West Ham have been dysfunctional in possession this season. Their wing-back duo of Aaron Cresswell and Pablo Zabaleta will hardly trouble Serge Aurier and Ben Davies.
Fancy a Spurs clean sheet? You can back West Ham to struggle in front of goal at 29/20 - Tottenham have kept three clean sheets from their previous five matches.
The aforementioned Spurs wing-backs will make a colossal difference from their match with Swansea. Not to mention that West Ham are not set up for that sort of rearguard display.
The width of Aurier and Davies gives Spurs a different dimension and enables performances similar to their best of the last two seasons.
It does mean that Heung-min Son will likely miss out, but the versatile forward could make all the difference from the bench. The Premier League betting markets for this weekend's fixture show Son at 23/5 - a decent price despite his slow start to the season.
Spurs’ Wembley woes have not impacted them on the road. Their 2-0 and 3-0 victories away at Newcastle and Everton respectively show just that.
Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane tormented Everton, and could do the same at the London Stadium. The Hammers’ recent improvement is yet to be tested against a top seven side.
Spurs made tough work of Barnsley in midweek, but that fearsome front three will have a new lease of life with the return of two wing-backs in their natural positions.
In a match where the Lilywhites will dominate the ball, it could be worth looking at a few card bets for the hosts. West Ham have picked up nine yellows – only three teams have more – and a red so far this season.
Zabaleta has four yellows already this season, and could be caught out of position in transition making him a worthwhile bet in 888sport's Premier League markets at 7/4.
PREDICTION: West Ham United 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Priced at 7/1 with 888sport)
