Opta Big Match Stats: Bale Express to steam past Irons

Gareth Bale is among the world's best at present

Armed with Opta's insight, Christian Crowther picks out three bets for Monday night's London derby between West Ham and Tottenham...

West Ham United v Tottenham (Monday, 20:00, Sky Sports 1)

The Hammers have lost three of their last five home league encounters with the Lilywhites, winning just one
The recent home win against Swansea provided West Ham with much needed Premier League points and briefly halted a perilous slide down the table following six games without victory in all competitions. However, the subsequent loss to Aston Villa will have done little to stem fears of being drawn into the relegation scrap for the Hammers faithful. Next up is a really tough fixture against a talented Tottenham side who last tasted a Premier League defeat 11 games back on December 9. The gulf in class between the sides was apparent when Spurs cruised to a 3-1 victory back in November at White Hart Lane and, on current form, another Lilywhites win looks the most plausible outcome.
Recommended Bet: Back Tottenham to win @ 2.226/5

Gareth Bale has now scored 10 goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances
In form such as this, it's difficult to imagine West Ham containing Tottenham's flying Welshman and they certainly wouldn't be the first. Some of Bale's recent performances in a Spurs shirt have rightly earned him the tag as one of the best players in the world at present. As he demonstrated against Lyon on two occasions, Bale has also now perfected his own unique blend of keeper-bamboozling free-kicks, as if raw pace, skill and goals were not enough for one man's armoury. In the reverse fixture at the end of November, it was of course Bale who scored the second in that resounding Spurs victory.
Best Bet: Back Gareth Bale to score @ 2.56/4

Tottenham have scored the highest proportion of goals in the second half of games this season (73%)
Mousa Dembele's last-minute strike against Lyon was not hugely unexpected given this Tottenham team's propensity for a last-gasp goal, demonstrated on numerous occasions this season. Since Clint Dempsey's stoppage-time equaliser against Man United, Spurs have scored eight times in six games with six of those goals coming after the half-time team talk. These stats are a credit to the fitness of this team if nothing else and, replete with so much pace, especially in wide areas, it's no surprise to see opponents tiring in the second period of games. All three of the Hammers' most recent Premier League goals have also arrived after the break.
Recommended Bet: Back the second half to contain more goals @ 2.35/4