Match Preview
Tottenham Hotspur vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 09 23/24 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Monday 23rd October 2023 KO:20:00
Referee:
Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Live on Sky
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Fulham are off to Tottenham for Monday's Premier League London derby with Spurs seeking revenge on the only team to have bested them this season.
The whole of Craven Cottage stood as one during Fulham's 3-1 victory over Sheffield United a fortnight ago, where a sickening leg injury to Blades defender Chris Basham - who was comforted by Tim Ream while other players could not bear the sight - overshadowed the Cottagers' win over their newly-promoted foes.
Both defences remained on top heading into the break, but Fulham turned up the heat against the shaken Blades in the second half and came up trumps courtesy of strikes from Bobby Decordova-Reid and Willian alongside an unfortunate Wes Foderingham own goal, as Tom Cairney's rocket hit the woodwork deflected into the net off the goalkeeper's back.
Antonee Robinson joined Foderingham in Saturday's own-goals club, but the Cottagers left-back's blushes were eventually spared as Marco Silva's side continued their sequence of winning one then failing to win one - a statistic which does not make for pleasant reading ahead of Monday.
Thirteenth spot in the table belongs to Fulham amid their wholly inconsistent start, but the Cottagers travel across the capital with only one win to show from four away games in the 2023-24 season so far, and even then their opening 1-0 success over Everton was fortuitous.
By holding their nerve from 12 yards in the EFL Cup, Fulham ended a nine-game winless run against Tottenham, but not since a 1-0 triumph in the last knockings of the 2012-13 season have the Cottagers got one over the Lilywhites in the top flight - ex-Spurs man Dimitar Berbatov came back to haunt White Hart Lane on that occasion.
Ange Postecoglou's side saw one route to silverware closed off with a penalty-shootout defeat to the Cottagers in the second round of the EFL Cup, but nine points separate the capital counterparts in the embryonic rankings
Barring their 12-yard heartache in August - which officially condemned Tottenham to a full 16 years without lifting a major trophy aloft - the Lilywhites remain the team to beat in the Premier League under Postecoglou, who was bestowed with a second successive Manager of the Month honour for his September exploits.
Spurs would seemingly continue their streak of scoring at least two goals in every Premier League game under the Australian during a trip to Luton Town two weekends ago, but profligacy reared its ugly head in a first half which also saw Yves Bissouma dismissed for two bookable offences, the second being a foolish dive right under the referee's nose.
Nevertheless, shrewd summer signing Micky van de Ven met James Maddison's cutback in the second half to propel the 10 men of Tottenham to victory, one which saw the North London giants enter the second international break of the season top of the table on 20 points, clear of bitter adversaries Arsenal by virtue of goals scored.
Results elsewhere this weekend helped drop Tottenham to fourth before Monday's London derby, though, and the only points that Spurs have dropped this season have come against two of their neighbours in Brentford and Arsenal, sharing the spoils in a pair of four-goal spectaculars.
However, snapping that pattern to prevail would see Postecoglou break a new Premier League record with an all-time high 23 points from his first nine games in charge - Guus Hiddink and Mike Walker both achieved 22 - and Spurs host Fulham having netted in each of their last 12 top-flight home affairs.
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Fulham beat Spurs 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage in the EFL Cup second round in August.
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Spurs have won seven of the eight most recent Premier League meetings, with the exception a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January 2021.
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Fulham's solitary league win against Tottenham in the past 17 attempts was by 1-0 at White Hart Lane in March 2013. They have failed to score more than once in any of those 17 games.
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Fulham's three league wins so far have come against teams who began this latest round of fixtures in the bottom five of the table: Everton, Luton Town and Sheffield United.
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The Cottagers are without a win in their past 10 Premier League London derbies, while their only triumph in 21 away fixtures in the capital was 3-0 at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day last year.
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Marco Silva is winless in all seven Premier League matches as a manager against Spurs (D3, L4).
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Seven of Bobby De Cordova-Reid's 11 Premier League goals for Fulham have been the game's opening goal, including each of his last three.
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Six wins and two draws is Tottenham's best record after eight league games of a season since 1960-61, when they won their opening 11 league fixtures en route to the title.
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They were league leaders after as many as eight matches for only the second time. They were top after 12 games on 15th December 2020.
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A win over Fulham would ensure Ange Postecoglou sets a record of 23 points earned from his first nine Premier League fixtures in charge, surpassing Mike Walker and Guus Hiddink.
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Their only dropped points so far came in their two London derbies: 2-2 draws at Brentford and Arsenal.
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Spurs could become the first side to earn three consecutive Premier League victories courtesy of stoppage-time goals.
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All seven of James Maddison's goal involvements for Tottenham in the Premier League this season have been away, scoring twice and providing five assists.
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Source Ben Knapton at SportsMole/BBCSports