Tottenham Hotspur make the 12-mile journey south to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon aiming to secure a fourth Premier League win in a row.
The Lilywhites have recovered from a sticky patch of form in September to drag themselves to within two points of the summit, while their opponents remain in the lower reaches of the division.
West Ham United
© ReutersJust when West Ham appeared to have turned a corner under Manuel Pellegrini, they produced a flat performance in their 1-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion to head into the international break on a low.
The Hammers offered little of the fighting spirit shown in the win over Manchester United a week prior, as they succumbed to a fifth top-flight defeat in eight outings since Pellegrini arrived in the summer.
Pellegrini admitted to being "frustrated" by his side's showing on the south coast, although the Chilean fell short of criticising any individuals, insisting that a point would have been the right outcome on the night.
Either way, United fell well short of their previous displays against Everton, Chelsea and Man United - a run of games that saw them put seven points on the board to climb away from the foot of the table.
West Ham kicked off their campaign with four successive defeats, conceding 10 and scoring just two in the process, but heading into that Brighton match they had plenty of momentum on their side.
Pellegrini now needs to instil some confidence back into his players, who appear to be unable to turn on the style when they come up against the division's lesser sides.
That should not be a problem this weekend against their title-chasing opponents, as they go in search of back-to-back wins at the London Stadium for the first time since December 2016.
United have defeated Spurs on 14 previous occasions in the Premier League era - against no side have they won more matches, equal with their 14 victories over Southampton - and victory this weekend will once again kickstart their stuttering campaign.
Recent form in Premier League: LLWDWL
Recent form (all competitions): LWDWWL
Tottenham Hotspur
© ReutersDespite often being far from their best this season, Tottenham's 1-0 win over Cardiff City in their last match before the two-week hiatus was enough to keep them firmly in the title mix, just a couple of points behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Spurs were arguably fortunate to come out of that game against strugglers Cardiff with all three points, relying on an early Eric Dier goal - his first in some 546 days - to get them over the line in a cagey affair at Wembley Stadium.
That ultimately made it three Premier League wins in a row, though, ensuring that the Lilywhites are ahead of where they were 12 months ago in terms of points, just like four other members of the current top five - Man City being the exception.
Mauricio Pochettino will need no reminding that his side also won three in a row to begin the season, culminating in a memorable 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford, only to then lose away to Watford and at home to Liverpool to see all of their hard work undone.
Tottenham deserve credit for getting their season firmly back on track - domestically speaking, at least, as they still have it all to do in the Champions League - but far tougher tests than Cardiff, Huddersfield Town and Brighton lie ahead.
Indeed, the Lilywhites travel to West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next two away outings, either side of a home match against reigning champions Man City next weekend, while huge games against Chelsea and Arsenal are also on the horizon.
Throw an EFL Cup fourth-round tie against this weekend's opponents into the mix, on top of a crucial European double-header against PSV Eindhoven, and it is clear to see why Pochettino is desperate to get his walking wounded back to full fitness.
First up is this short trip to the London Stadium, with Tottenham seeking a fifth successive victory against a club from the capital, which they last achieved back in 1961.
Recent form in Premier League: WLLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWLW
Team News
© ReutersTottenham confirmed over the international break that key defender Jan Vertonghen is to miss at least a month of action as a result of the hamstring injury sustained against Huddersfield.
Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez will therefore be heavily relied upon for this next batch of fixtures, while skipper Hugo Lloris is now back to full fitness in goal.
There is some better news on the injury front for Pochettino, though, as Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen and Victor Wanyama are all expected to be available for this trip to East London, leaving just Dele Alli and possibly Danny Rose as the other two notable absentees.
Harry Kane, who is almost certain to start at the London Stadium, has scored seven goals in his last seven Premier League meetings with West Ham and was on target twice at this ground when Spurs triumphed 3-2 last season.
In terms of the hosts, Pellegrini remains without Winston Reid, Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll, Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez.
Arthur Masuaku is also doubtful because of a ankle problem, but should he be fit then Pellegrini could well go with the same XI that lost to Brighton.
That will also depend on the fitness of star forward Marko Arnautovic, however, as he is still feeling the effects of a knee problem that ruled him out of the Chelsea draw last month.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku; Noble, Rice, Obiang; Yarmolenko, Arnautovic, Anderson
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Son, Eriksen, Lucas; Kane
Head To Head
This first of two meetings between the sides in October will mark the 210th time that they have met, and it is Spurs who hold the superior record with 94 victories.
The most recent encounter finished 1-1 at Wembley Stadium in January, as the London rivals cancelled each other out with a couple of wonderstrikes from Pedro Obiang and Son Heung-min in the final quarter of the match.
Since a run of three wins in a row in this fixture for West Ham between October 2013 and May 2014, the Hammers have won three, lost four and drawn two, making it pretty evenly matched ahead of this latest tussle.
We say: West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham may have lost to Brighton before the international break, but they performed well in their three previous matches against higher-calibre opposition. The visit of Tottenham this weekend may therefore be exactly what Pellegrini needs to get his side's campaign back on track, and the recent history of this fixture suggests that it really could go either way.
