Seeking revenge on the only team to have bested them this season, Tottenham Hotspur welcome Fulham to their headquarters for Monday’s Premier League London derby.
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 could potentially drop Tottenham as low as 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.
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.
Twelfth 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.
As Bissouma takes his place on the sidelines for a one-game suspension, the out-of-favour Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg should be drafted in to an otherwise untouched Tottenham lineup, where both Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero will feature following scares on international duty.
Brennan Johnson (hamstring) is also in with a chance of being involved, while Rodrigo Bentancur is now working with the group again but still needs time to build up his match fitness after eight months in the medical bay, where Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle) remain.
Despite already boasting two goals and five assists from his opening eight Premier League games in a Spurs shirt, Maddison is out to break a personal duck this weekend, as all seven of those contributions have come away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Meanwhile, Silva was left seething at Sheffield United’s leveller two weekends ago, as Issa Diop visibly injured himself and ceded possession with the expectation that the Blades would put the ball out, but the visitors elected to continue playing before Robinson turned into his own net.
Diop is now confirmed to be suffering from a foot injury and is one of four players unavailable for the Cottagers, who are also without another centre-back in Tosin Adarabioyo, a player who was briefly linked with a move to Spurs over the summer.
Kenny Tete (groin) and another ex-Tottenham target in Adama Traore (thigh) are also out of contention for Fulham, who will call upon Calvin Bassey to join Ream in a depleted backline.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Hojbjerg; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Pereira, Palhinha, Iwobi; Decordova-Reid, Vinicius, Willian
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Fulham
Momentum can shift in the wake of an international break, but with Tottenham being afforded an ample recuperation period from their non-domestic exploits, there should only be one outcome to Monday’s meeting.
Winless in seven games against Tottenham as a manager, Silva’s dismal streak against the Lilywhites should be prolonged on Monday, as Postecoglou writes a new chapter of Premier League history.
