A London derby sees two clubs in white compete for the points on offer as they both look for consecutive wins.
Tottenham will aim to continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League when they play host to Fulham. Although the Lilywhites completed the league double over them last season and haven’t lost in their last five encounters, they are looking for revenge after getting dumped out of the Carabao Cup at Craven Cottage in August.
Nevertheless, Ange Postecoglou has brought a feel-good factor back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a difficult last couple of years.
They first played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Brentford to start the league campaign then beat Manchester United and Bournemouth each 2-0 in the following matches.
Burnley were next to lose to Spurs, but the manner of their 2-1 win over Sheffield United will live long in the memory. Losing with the clock ticking down, the Lilywhites pulled back the points through dramatic added-time goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski.
A brace from Son Heung-Min secured a creditable draw in the North London derby at the Emirates. Tottenham won another thriller in the last minutes of a controversial game against nine-man Liverpool.
Luton lost 1-0 to Spurs despite having Yves Bissouma sent off, and they will be raring to go after the international break. Notably, their last two home games ended with late drama in their favour, and they are confident of securing maximum points against Fulham.
Aside from being unbeaten, Postecoglou’s side have also scored in every single game and ended their last game before the international break on top of the league as they secured their best start to a season since 1980.
Smart acquisitions have made a difference for them. Still, all credit must go to their Australian manager, who received the season’s first Premier League Manager of the Month award.
There is no European football for the North London side this term, which sharpens their focus on league matters as they are early favourites for a top-four place.
Fulham are yet to beat a top team this season, and a win at Spurs would be a sensational result for Marco Silva’s men.
The Cottagers have blown hot and cold thus far with their win, draw, and defeat in the first three games against Everton, Brentford, and Arsenal setting the tone for their league campaign.
Since then, they’ve lost 5-2 at Manchester City, beaten Luton Town 1-0, and played a goalless draw with Crystal Palace.
Chelsea left Craven Cottage with a 2-0 win, but Fulham paused for the two-week break with a 3-1 victory against Sheffield United. The West Londoners hope for their first away win of the campaign but will probably take another draw to add to their previous two.
Fulham sit in 12th position after three wins, as many defeats, and two draws in the top division, and they must bank on defensive resilience to disrupt the elegant Spurs. They have recorded two draws and two defeats against fellow London teams this season, and a first victory against Spurs would be delightful.
The West Londoners had already defeated Tottenham on penalties in this season’s Carabao Cup when they ended the game with 40% possession but matched them with the same amount of shots on target.
It does look like Marco Silva’s focus on solidity can cope with Tottenham’s dynamic attacking approach, but the Cottagers have the sixth-worst defence for goals conceded in the league.
This has the makings of becoming an open game that favours Spurs, who have scored 18 goals in their first eight matches.
Match tickets
This potential cracker is the scheduled Monday Night fixture following the national engagements as it takes place on 23 October with kick-off at 8 PM UK time. It is much more fulfilling to watch the game in the flesh, so why not make your way down to N17?
Tottenham vs Fulham tickets can be purchased on each club’s website. Still, given it is a derby match with a brilliant kick-off time, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be sold out and singing loudly for the occasion. However, Tottenham tickets may be hard to find for non-season ticket holders, but they may be lucky to get one on a ticket resale website.
Team news
There is a growing list of injured players at Hotspur Way with Alfie Whiteman, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, and Rodrigo Bentancur all out, and summer signing Manor Solomon has joined after knee surgery.
Brennan Johnson went off with a hamstring issue during his first start for the club against Arsenal but should be okay after the break. Given the shortage of attacking options, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso have returned to the matchday squad following injuries and will have to force their way into Postecoglou’s plans.
Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma almost cost Spurs the game due to a silly sending-off at Luton and will serve a suspension as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is expected to come into the line-up.
Fulham have injured Tosin Adarabioyo, Steven Benda, and Adama Traore, but right-back Kenny Tete could be eyeing a return from his hamstring injury against Spurs.
Silva hopes his international players will be fine as they enter a tough run of fixtures.
Line-ups
Spurs have the likes of James Maddison and Son leading the attack, and the onus is on them to break the Fulham backline. They will be confident of getting the goals needed to win the game.
With several of their players facing long journeys to represent their national team, Postecoglou has a hard task putting together his strongest team to take on Fulham.
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son
Raul Jimenez is yet to find the net in the Premier League for Fulham, but having been a menace with four goals, two assists, and five wins from nine previous meetings with Spurs, he will be looking forward to starting the game.
Carlos Vinicius is a capable deputy and must also be eyeing a brilliant performance against his former team.
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha, Pereira; Wilson, Jimenez, Willian
Prediction
Spurs should have enough to claim all three points from this one, but Fulham will try to make it as difficult as possible.
Although the Cottagers have a fantastic shot-stopper in Bernd Leno, too much might be against them. Except, of course, some VAR drama changes the course of the game.
Tottenham 3-1 Fulham
