Fulham will host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday. Last Saturday, Ange Postecoglou’s team crushed Aston Villa 4-0 to reclaim their Champions League. The Cottagers lost 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Preview (Fulham vs. Tottenham Hotspur)
Fulham’s previous victories over Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Brighton & Hove Albion demonstrated a merciless edge, but it was absent from Molineux last weekend as Marco Silva’s team failed to take advantage of their first-half opportunities and paid the price. Midway into the second half, Wolves established a comfortable lead thanks to a close-range finish from Rayan Ait-Nouri and a terrible own goal by Tom Cairney. Although Alex Iwobi scored deep into injury time, it was too little, too late for the Cottagers.
Silva was fully aware that his team had reached a breaking point at Molineux. They were punished for carelessness and a disorganized second half. The season will come to an unremarkable end for the 12th-place Cottagers. They are eight points outside of the European spots and 14 points clear of the relegation zone. Although Silva’s team might theoretically challenge for Europa Conference League football in the last stages of the season, they should be happy to finish mid-table and enter Saturday’s derby having scored in their previous six Premier League games.
Additionally, Fulham has earned 25 of their 35 points so far this season at Craven Cottage. They have won their last two Premier League London derbies (5-0 against West Ham United and 2-1 against Arsenal). However, Fulham has never won three straight home games against all-capital opponents in the top tier. Tottenham shattered the competition for Champions League football last weekend. They demolished more of the collapsing Villa Park stronghold with a four-star second-half performance. Fulham’s trip to the West Midlands was a failure.
Team News
The trip to Wolves last weekend was scheduled too soon for thigh injury victim Raul Jimenez to play against his old employers. However, Silva anticipates the Mexico international to be fit for Tottenham’s visit. It means the home team may field a fully-fit lineup for the derby. Rodrigo Muniz has six direct goal involvements from his last six games. He will lead the charge once more in Jimenez’s place on the bench. Silva’s choice to use two strikers in the closing moments of the Wolves match momentarily paid off. Armando Broja provided the assist for Iwobi’s consolation goal.
After serving his sentence, Joao Palhinha was only able to make the bench against Molineux. He will undoubtedly be selected back into the hosts’ midfield on Saturday, most likely ahead of Sasa Lukic as Harrison Reed takes up his position. Meanwhile, pacy center-back Micky van de Ven suffered another injury during Tottenham’s victory over Aston Villa. The Dutchman left the game early in the second half due to a knee issue, and he is not likely to play on Saturday. Richarlison (knee) also missed the match against Villa due to a knee injury, but he stated he was confident he would be well enough to go to the West Midlands.
Fulham 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
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