Caveat to Spurs’ super start
Tottenham went into the second international break of the season top of the Premier League table after winning six and drawing two of their first eight games under new boss Ange Postecoglou.
There’s no denying it’s been a great start to the new campaign, made all the more impressive by Postecoglou’s free-flowing style of play and the number of goals Spurs have scored, but it’s also understandable why many fans are refusing to get carried away just yet.
Out of Tottenham’s six league wins to date, four came against Luton, Bournemouth, Burnley and Sheffield United – the bottom four clubs – while their other two victories came at home to a poor Man Utd side and a 2-1 win over nine-man Liverpool thanks to a stoppage time own goal.
But you can do no more than win, and Spurs will have another great chance to bag a further three points when they host 13th-place Fulham on Monday night.
They’ll have to earn a win without key midfielder Yves Bissouma who will serve a one match suspension, but in James Maddison (five goals, two assists), Son Heung-min (six goals), Dejan Kulusevski and the returning Brennan Johnson they have one hell of an attacking force.
Stop-start for Cottagers
Three weeks ago I previewed Fulham’s home game against Chelsea and I remarked that Marco Silva‘s men had made a perfectly acceptable start to the season, winning two, drawing two and losing two of their six games played to that point.
Disappointingly (for me at least) they lost to the Blues, but they’ve since defeated a poor Sheffield United side which has rather continued their stop-start campaign so far; they’re yet to win two games on the spin, they’re yet to lose two games on the spin.
And very much like Tottenham, the Cottagers’ three victories to date have all came against struggling teams; Everton (16th), Luton (17th) and Sheffield United (20th).
However, unlike Spurs, Fulham have struggled in front of goal this term. They’ve scored just eight so far meaning that only the three clubs in the relegation zone plus Crystal Palace have scored fewer.
Sadly for the Cottagers, the win over Sheffield United just before the international break came at a cost with key central defender Issa Diop limping off with a foot injury. He will be a major absentee on Monday night.
Home win with goals looks a safe bet
This is a game that Tottenham will really fancy taking three points from given that it will open up a two-point cushion at the top of the table following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.
Their record against struggling teams this season has been excellent, winning all four against clubs that are considered almost certain to finish bottom half of the table this campaign.
The Cottagers now fall into that bracket after the departure of star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, a void they are yet to fill.
