Today as part of the 29th Premier League round, Fulham FC are set to host Tottenham Hotspur. Last weekend, the Spurs thrashed Aston Villa 4:0, while Fulham bowed to Wolverhampton Wanderers 2:1 having no substantial tournament motivation.
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Bassi, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Wilson, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz.
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udoh; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Son.
At the lower half of the Premier League leaderboard, Fulham currently holds the 12th place and has a full focus away from the survival fight. As a result, Fulham are likely to finish the season without any significant tournament tasks. Nonetheless, the "Cottagers" continue to perform well: in the last 7 rounds, the hosts lost only twice, earning 3 victories. After triumphing over Manchester United (1:2) and Brighton (3:0), Fulham faced a setback from Wolverhampton with a score of 2:1 last weekend. A goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri from close range and an ill-fated ball transport to his own goal by Tom Cairney gave Wolves a hefty lead in the mid-second half. Alex Iwobi only added to the trouble by scoring late into the game. It's worth noting that Marco Silva's charges have collected 25 out of 35 points in the current campaign at Craven Cottage, dominating in the last two London derbies against West Ham (5:0) and Arsenal (2:1)
Due to a thigh injury sustained in late January, Mexican striker Raul Jimenez (5 goals) is still recovering, however, there are no other personnel losses in the home camp. Nigerian winger Iwobi (5 goals), who had a scoring weekend, is expected to return to the starting lineup this Saturday, as is Brazilian striker Rodrigo Muniz (5 goals and 1 assist in the last 6 matches). Albanian Broya, on loan from Chelsea, may enhance the offensive power as a second-half substitute. Joao Palhinha will replace Sasa Lukic in midfield, and Harrison Reed will boost the solidity of the hosts' defensive zone.
Aiming for a Champions League spot, Tottenham Hotspur is in the thick of action and currently ranks 5th in the Premier League table, trailing the top four by two points. After five rounds without a loss, Spurs suffered a sensational home defeat to Wolves 1:2, followed by victories over Crystal Palace (3:1) and last weekend's thrashing of direct contenders for the top-4, Aston Villa (0:4). James Maddison and Brennan Johnson's precise shots preceded John McGinn's deserved red card, virtually obliterating Villa's comeback hopes. Son Heung-Min and Timo Werner netted their goals late into the game. Fans will be pleased that Tottenham have scored multiple goals in each of their last six Premier League away matches, starting from early December.
Overall, in 13 away matches, Spurs garnered 23 points (the league's 5th best rating), scored 30 and conceded 20 goals. Tottenham's squad still lacks Richarlison, Sessegnon, and Solomon, as well as substitute goalkeeper Forster. The win over Aston Villa was partially overshadowed by yet another injury to centre-back Micky van de Ven, who was replaced due to a knee problem early in the second half, the Dutchman is expected to miss Saturday's clash. Winter acquisition Timo Werner has been in terrific form since his transfer, the German has netted two goals in the last two matches, scoring one of them against Aston Villa as a substitute. Maddison (4 goals and 7 assists), Johnson (4 goals and 6 assists), and Son (14 goals and 8 assists) are sure to start. They will be assisted on the wing by winger Kulusevski (6 goals and 3 assists).
Tottenham celebrated a home victory over Fulham with a score of 2:0 earlier this season - their fourth consecutive win over Marco Silva's side. However, Fulham knocked Spurs out of the 1/32 final of the country's Cup in August.
Despite the demoralising defeat against Wolverhampton, the "Cottagers' quality should not be written off – a failure to capitalise on decisive moments let down the home side. Remember that Fulham, under Marco Silva, excel at home and have already upstaged Spurs at Craven Cottage this season (in the FA Cup). I predict that the hosts will make up ground in front of home fans and at least avoid a loss on Saturday.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Liverpool | 29 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 69:27 | 70 | |
2 | Arsenal | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 28 | 52:24 | 55 | |
3 | Nottingham | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 49:35 | 54 | |
4 | Chelsea | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 53:36 | 49 | |
5 | Manchester City | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 55:40 | 48 | |
6 | Newcastle | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 47:38 | 47 | |
7 | Brighton | 29 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 48:42 | 47 | |
8 | Aston Villa | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | -4 | 41:45 | 45 | |
9 | Bournemouth | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 48:36 | 44 | |
10 | Fulham | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 41:38 | 42 | |
11 | Brentford | 29 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 50:45 | 41 | |
12 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 36:33 | 39 | |
13 | Tottenham | 28 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 55:41 | 34 | |
14 | Everton | 29 | 7 | 13 | 9 | -4 | 32:36 | 34 | |
15 | Manchester Utd | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | -6 | 34:40 | 34 | |
16 | West Ham | 29 | 9 | 7 | 13 | -16 | 33:49 | 34 | |
17 | Wolves | 29 | 7 | 5 | 17 | -18 | 40:58 | 26 | |
18 | Ipswich | 29 | 3 | 8 | 18 | -34 | 28:62 | 17 | |
19 | Leicester | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | -37 | 25:62 | 17 | |
20 | Southampton | 29 | 2 | 3 | 24 | -49 | 21:70 | 9 | |
1 | Liverpool | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 31:11 | 35 | |
2 | Arsenal | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 27:11 | 28 | |
3 | Nottingham | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23:10 | 28 | |
4 | Chelsea | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 27:15 | 28 | |
5 | Aston Villa | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 25:18 | 28 | |
6 | Manchester City | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 30:19 | 27 | |
7 | Brighton | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 21:16 | 24 | |
8 | Brentford | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 30:27 | 24 | |
9 | Newcastle | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 24:17 | 23 | |
10 | Bournemouth | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 18:12 | 21 | |
11 | Fulham | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 20:21 | 20 | |
12 | Manchester Utd | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 21:25 | 20 | |
13 | Everton | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 21:18 | 19 | |
14 | Tottenham | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 30:26 | 18 | |
15 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 17:22 | 17 | |
16 | West Ham | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 18:28 | 17 | |
17 | Wolves | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 18:27 | 11 | |
18 | Leicester | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 11:27 | 9 | |
19 | Ipswich | 15 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 12:34 | 7 | |
20 | Southampton | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 10:39 | 4 | |
1 | Liverpool | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 38:16 | 35 | |
2 | Arsenal | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 25:13 | 27 | |
3 | Nottingham | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 26:25 | 26 | |
4 | Newcastle | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 23:21 | 24 | |
5 | Brighton | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 27:26 | 23 | |
6 | Bournemouth | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 30:24 | 23 | |
7 | Fulham | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 21:17 | 22 | |
8 | Crystal Palace | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 19:11 | 22 | |
9 | Chelsea | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 26:21 | 21 | |
10 | Manchester City | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 25:21 | 21 | |
11 | Aston Villa | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 16:27 | 17 | |
12 | Brentford | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 20:18 | 17 | |
13 | West Ham | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15:21 | 17 | |
14 | Tottenham | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 25:15 | 16 | |
15 | Everton | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 11:18 | 15 | |
16 | Wolves | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 22:31 | 15 | |
17 | Manchester Utd | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 13:15 | 14 | |
18 | Ipswich | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 16:28 | 10 | |
19 | Leicester | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 14:35 | 8 | |
20 | Southampton | 15 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 11:31 | 5 |
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