Match Preview
Tottenham Hotspur vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 16 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Wednesday 30th December 2020 KO: 18:00
Referee:
Peter Bankes (Merseyside)
Live on Amazon Prime Video
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Daniel Lewis
Fulham round off 2020 with an away Premier League match against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening.
Spurs have enjoyed a largely positive 12 months under Jose Mourinho, but they are without a win in four league matches and have slipped down the table.
Fulham are in need of points for a different reason as they enter this match inside the relegation zone, despite some improved performances.
However a Fulham victory really would be a shock particularly given that the Cottagers have failed to win any of their last five top-flight games.
However, Scott Parker's men have at least made themselves tough to beat, drawing each of their last four, including a 1-1 draw with champions Liverpool.
Saturday's goalless draw with Southampton was hardly the worst result in the world, either, though it does mean that Fulham enter this game in the relegation zone.
The west London outfit have lost 10 of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Spurs, the only victory in that run coming at White Hart Lane in March 2013.
Tottenham found themselves top of the Premier League following their 2-0 win over bitter rivals Arsenal on December 6, but they have since slipped out of the top four entirely.
Away draws with Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers have sandwiched defeats to fellow title contenders Liverpool and Leicester City over the past few weeks.
Mourinho could not hide his frustration after dropping two late points at Wolves, with his side seemingly sitting back on a first-minute lead given to them by Tanguy Ndombele.
Romain Saiss's 86th-minute header had a sense of inevitability about it, though Mourinho insisted after the game it was never his intention to hold out for a one-goal victory.
In less than a month, the question of whether the 'old Mourinho' is back has taken on a different meaning, with the Portuguese now appearing irritated and questioning his players.
The only way to stop the rot is by picking up victory at home to Fulham on Wednesday in this ninth and final match of a packed December.
Tottenham lost 2-0 to Leicester last time out on home soil, though not since January 2019 have they lost successive home league games. Mourinho, meanwhile, has never lost back-to-back home league matches.
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Tottenham have won 10 of the last 11 Premier League games against Fulham.
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Fulham haven't scored more than once in any of the last 13 league meetings.
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The Cottagers have won only three of their 36 away league fixtures against Spurs.
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Fulham have drawn their last four league matches - as many as in their previous 43 top-flight games.
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They could go five Premier League fixtures unbeaten for the first time since 2013.
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Fulham have lost their last 13 Premier League London derbies, an all-time top-flight record.
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They have only won 25 of their 131 Premier League London derbies.
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They have earned four points from their last three away league games, as many as their previous 13 away matches in the competition.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in three of his four Premier League appearances against Spurs.
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Tottenham are winless in four league matches, their worst run since a similar four-game spell between February and June.
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Spurs have dropped a league-high nine points due to goals conceded in the last 10 minutes of matches.
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Tottenham are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League London derbies, winning three and drawing four.
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They have had just 22 shots in the second half of their last seven Premier League matches.
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Spurs have lost their final league game in just one of the last 11 calendar years.
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Only four of Spurs' Premier League goals this season have not involved Harry Kane or Son Heung-min.
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Son is one goal short of 100 for Spurs in all competitions.