West Ham United host Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night, and the Hammers will be looking to come out tops this time around following their narrow 1-0 loss to the north London side last weekend.
Both sides met at this same stage of the competition last season, with West Ham coming from two goals down to win 3-2 in the pulsating contest.
The Hammers will hope history can repeat itself again at the London Stadium, and manager Manuel Pellegrini has revealed they are taking the game very seriously and have been preparing meticulously since Sunday.
“On Wednesday, we welcome Mauricio Pochettino and his players and staff for the second time in the space of eleven days,” the Chilean told the club’s official website.
“We were unlucky to lose against them in the Premier League but they have a very good squad and I expect it to be another close and difficult game.
“As I have said previously, the Carabao Cup is a major competition that we take very seriously, and we have been on the training pitch since Sunday preparing our work and focusing on what we need to do to come out on top.”
Pellegrini’s plans for Wednesday should excite West Ham fans, and they can be rest assured that the players will give every drop of their sweat to ensure victory.
While Tottenham are expected to hand rest to some of their key players, Pochettino is still expected to name a strong side.
However, Pellegrini isn’t afforded that luxury given the Hammers ever-growing injury list.
Marko Arnautovic, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez and Pedro Obiang are all on the injury sidelines, while captain Mark Noble is suspended for the game after picking up a red card against Leicester City on Saturday.
