Fulham vs Tottenham Prediction

As this round of Premier League predictions draws to a close, we preview Tottenham’s visit to Craven Cottage. Can Spurs close the gap on the top 4? Or will Fulham leapfrog them into fifth place? Find out with our Fulham vs Tottenham prediction.

Fulham vs Tottenham Prediction Match Overview

Fulham come into this match in good form, having taken 12 points from the 15 over their last five Premier League matches. This run of good form has seen the newly-promoted west London side competing for a European spot with just over half of the season played. This period of good form has coincided with better defensive performances, with just three goals conceded since the restart following last year’s World Cup. Fulham can perhaps consider themselves to be somewhat unfortunate not to continue their undefeated run at St James’ Park last time out, where a freak penalty slip from Aleksandar Mitrovic resulted in a double-hit which ruled out the Serbian’s effort. However, Newcastle went on to win the game and the Cottagers failed to register a shot on target – overall their performance could be characterised as poor, but goals change games and Newcastle weren’t exactly sparkling in attack. Fulham will have to be ready to bounce back if they are to maintain their challenge for European football next season.

Tottenham are a difficult team to assess this season and have been consistently inconsistent since mid-September. Though they started the season well by going unbeaten for seven matches, their record since then has been rather poor. Losing six of their last 10 matches, they lie in 13th place in the form table for this period and have conceded 2.1 goals per game as they struggle to cope defensively. Last time out against Man City, Spurs had looked to be on their way towards an unlikely victory having scored two quick-fire goals at the end of the first half with City looking ponderous in their attacking play. Unfortunately for Conte’s men, the second half was a different story entirely as City found both their attacking rhythm and their shooting boots. The final score of 4-2 did not flatter the hosts, and Spurs will know that they must improve defensively to turn things around. All that said, because of their excellent start to the season, Spurs still sit in fifth place and have a chance to close the gap to Manchester United in this fixture.

Fulham vs Tottenham Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Fulham:

Might Not Play: Duffy

Will Not Play: Kebano

Tottenham:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Lucas Moura

Fulham vs Tottenham Predicted Lineups

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Robinson, Diop, Ream, Tete; Reed, Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Decordova-Reid; Mitrovic

Tottenham (3-4-3): Lloris; Davies, Dier, Romero; Perisic, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Doherty; Son, Kulusevski, Kane

Fulham vs Tottenham Prediction Analysis

Spurs’ Defensive Frailties

While this is hardly an original talking point of late, the fact remains that yes, Spurs have conceded goals at an alarming rate this season, which is hardly the hallmark of an Antonio Conte team. Perhaps one of the most worrying things for Spurs supporters through this porous run is that they can’t pin their defensive woes on an injury crisis. It doesn’t help that until their 4-0 victory against Crystal Palace, Spurs had conceded the first goal for 10 matches in a row. They simply cannot afford to do that here – Fulham tend to start fast and play with confidence in their approach regardless of the opposition, and with Spurs winning only one of their last five Premier League matches the last thing they will want is to chase the game and render themselves open to Fulham’s counter-attacks. This Fulham side is perfectly set up to attack rapidly in transition, and therefore from a Spurs point of view, they would want to play a patient, probing, possession-based game to take the sting out of the home side.

Fulham are Creating Fewer Chances Than Previously

Though Fulham have done brilliantly to take 12 points from a possible 15 following the World Cup break, it’s highly likely that their coaching staff will be aware that they generated 0 shots on target against Newcastle, 3 against Chelsea, 2 against Leicester and 2 against Southampton. While we can say that Fulham have been taking their chances exceptionally well indeed, it’s unlikely that they can maintain such a high conversion rate from shots on target, and we have to expect a regression to the mean at some point. Fulham will need to play directly and with confidence in attack here, if they allow Spurs to sit in and maintain their shape then they’ll likely be reliant on speculative passes to Mitrovic. Against Newcastle, they had a tough time generating any opportunities of note besides the penalty, though this time around they could have some significant success if Spurs overcommit their wingbacks, as Fulham are strong in creating overloads in wide areas when allowed to do so.

Beat the Bookmaker Fulham vs Tottenham Prediction

Fulham have been on an impressive run, but we feel that their flat performance against Newcastle is a bad omen for this match here. Yes, Spurs have had their well-publicised problems over the last 10 games or so, losing six of their last 10 matches but despite the doom and gloom from some quarters, they gave Crystal Palace a 4-0 hiding following a clinical second-half performance and played two good halves against Arsenal and Manchester City despite losing both matches. Fulham aren’t on that level, and therefore Spurs will feel they can take the positives from those games and earn a valuable three points from this London derby.

Fulham 1-3 Tottenham

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