Tomorrow afternoon, at the lesser spotted 13:30 GMT kick off slot – due to the Carabao Cup final – Spurs will be in action across London, as they face Fulham at Craven Cottage, for match day 29 of the current Premier League season.
The lowdown on Fulham ahead of tomorrow afternoon's showdown
For the third season in a row, Fulham are exceeding expectations. Having been seen as just another yo-yo team, after winning the Championship title in the 21/22 season, people expected the 22/23 season to be same.
However, since then they have proved to be upwardly mobile under manager Marco Silva – despite losing key players such as Alexsandar Mitrovic and Joao Palhinha along the way – good recruitment and coaching has allowed them to continue ticking along despite these departures.
Most football fans will be glad to see Raul Jimenez having a career renaissance, after his life threatening injury when playing for Wolves back in 2020. His ten league goals so far this season is a personal high since he scored 17 goals in the 19/20 season – which saw him linked to some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
It is not the only career that Silva has managed to revive – far from it. In the last few years, Fulham have built a reputation as a career rehab clinic. The likes of Jimenez, Willian, Adama Traore, Andreas Pereira and others have all got their careers back on track under Silva’s stewardship.
Ironically, their best player is someone that the Portuguese manager released during his time in charge of Everton. That is marauding left-back Antonee Robinson, who has been consistently one of the best players in his position in the Premier League over the last few years. He is seen as a very solid defender, but has also picked up ten assists this season – only Mohamed Salah has more of any player in the league this season.
Hate to scare Spurs fans – but the patterns don’t bode well. Spurs have lost all three of their games before international breaks this season, against Newcastle United, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Ipswich Town. They also lost before the final two international breaks of last season.
The most damning part of all? The final one last season was against Fulham, at Craven Cottage, on the 16th of March. Exactly a year to the day – a 3-0 defeat for Spurs in this fixture. Ange’s side also had an intense 90 minutes against AZ Alkmaar < 72 hours before this game, whilst the hosts have had a week off.