Michail Antonio vs. Danny Rose: Two swift titans square off in London.

Ali vs Frazier. Tyson vs Holyfield. Stone Cold vs The Rock. Danny Rose vs Michail Antonio. Just another chapter in the great heavyweight match-ups of our time. London is sure to see some exciting attacking football from some world class wing-backs.

Danny Rose is nursing a foot injury picked up on international duty when England took on Scotland. However, Rose has been back in full training and Mauricio Pochettino has said he’s clear to play. Antonio has been the spark to West Ham’s attacking forge so far this season. With five goals netted, he leads the charge, and enjoys pressing teams early to test their defenses.

The knock on Rose and Walker has always been in relation to their defense, though not necessarily this year. They are great attacking fullbacks with pace and can certainly deliver the cross, as we saw on international duty where they both picked up a pair off assists. However, their defensive woes stem from tracking back. Spurs are a high press team and are susceptible to a quick counter attack if West Ham can force a turnover Tottenham’s defensive third.

Here are some interesting stats we got from tottenhamhotspur.com:

tottenhamhotspur.com

It is on Michail Antonio to not get frustrated if Hammers fail to penetrate within the first 15 minutes. Keep pressuring the Spurs fullbacks and the mistakes will come. The question becomes if Antonio, Lanzini, and Payet can capitalize on those errors.